US Monitoring Suspected Chinese Surveillance Balloon

By Staff, Agencies

Washington is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon over northern US states, according to the Pentagon Thursday.

US War Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top military officials considered shooting it down while over Montana, at US President Joe Biden’s request, but decided to monitor it instead. The balloon entered US airspace two days ago, and was known to US intelligence before it did, according to military officials.

The apparent espionage comes after a year of escalating tensions between the US and China, most recently focused on Taiwan.

“Clearly the intent of this balloon is for surveillance,” a military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that “the current flight path does carry it over a number of sensitive sites.”

This comes as US State Secretary Antony Blinken plans to travel to China over the weekend in an attempt to ease tensions between the powers.

Despite saber-rattling in the South China Sea over Taiwan, both sides have stated their goal is to avoid conflict. In November, Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Bali, Indonesia.