Washington: An alleged Chinese spy balloon in US airspace has been described as the size of ‘three buses’. The development comes days ahead of Foreign Minister Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing.
“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is currently flying over the continental United States,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters here on Thursday. ”
“NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) is continuously tracking and monitoring it,” he said, adding that the balloon was spotted over Montana on Thursday and is said to be the size of three buses.
“After the balloon was detected, the US government took immediate action to protect it from the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder said.
They said the balloon is traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.
A senior defense official said US President Joe Biden has been briefed about the incident, adding the Pentagon is exploring several options.
Officials said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, and Gen. Glenn VanHerk, of the US Northern Command, have recommended “not to take dynamic action” because of the potential risk to the safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field. .
A defense official said, “At present, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective. But we are still taking steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”