The Pentagon confirmed that it is tracking the balloon, which appears to be surveilling highly sensitive nuclear weapons sites. At President Joe Biden's request, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top military officials considered shooting the balloon down, but they decided not to do so due to the risk to the safety and security of people on the ground.
According to a senior defense official, the balloon flew over the US northwest where there are sensitive airbases and strategic missiles in silos underground. The official said, "Clearly, the intent of this balloon is for surveillance, and the current flight path does carry it over a number of sensitive sites.” However, the Pentagon did not believe it constitutes a particularly dangerous intelligence threat. The official added, “We assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
The balloon entered US airspace "a couple of days ago," and US intelligence had been tracking it well before that. After Biden asked about the options for dealing with it, Austin held discussions with top Pentagon officials. Fighter jets were flown to examine the balloon while it was above Montana as discussions took place. The Pentagon ultimately decided "not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field."
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder confirmed that the balloon is still being tracked over US airspace and added, "The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic. It does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground." China has sent surveillance balloons over the US in the past, but this one has lingered in US airspace much longer. The senior defense official said, “We are taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
The balloon's presence comes amid slowly simmering tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan. China says it is determined one day to reunite the independently governed island with the mainland, by force if necessary. But the United States has been arming Taiwan to defend itself, and Biden has said that Washington would help protect Taiwan if China attacked. Austin was in the Philippines this week to strengthen US defense cooperation, including gaining wider access for Pentagon forces to Philippine military bases, in a move that highlights the US view of China as a threat to East Asia.
The defense official said that the issue of the balloon has been raised with Beijing officials and added, “We have communicated to them the seriousness of the issue. We have made clear we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people in our own land.”
In conclusion, the Pentagon is closely monitoring the Chinese spy balloon and has decided not to take any kinetic action due to the risk to the safety and security of people on the ground. The issue has been raised with Beijing officials, and the United States has made it clear that it will do whatever is necessary to protect its people. The situation highlights the slowly rising tensions between the United States and China over Taiwan, and it will be interesting to see how this develops in the coming days.
This has been our update on the recent development of the Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States.
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