Rejecting China’s statement about the suspicious balloons in the US, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said they were certain it was a ‘surveillance balloon’, saying they violated US airspace and international law. Which is ‘unacceptable’. In the press briefing, he also said that the aerospace defense is ‘closely’ monitoring the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon.
“The balloon continues to move eastward and is over the center of the continental US. Again, we currently assess that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time, and we continue to monitor Will keep and review options,” he said. Responding to a question on China’s statement about the suspected balloon, Ryder said, “We are very aware of the statement from the PRC, but the fact is we know it is a surveillance balloon. We know the balloon violated US airspace.” has violated the region and international.” Law – which is unacceptable. And we have communicated this directly to the PRC at multiple levels.”
Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the balloon was a civilian airship in the US, mainly used for meteorological research. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, “The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship, used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by westerlies and limited self-operating capability With, the airship strayed far from its planned course.” On the unintended entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into US airspace.
The Chinese side “regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace,” it said. The Foreign Ministry statement said that the Chinese side will continue to communicate with the US side and resolve this unforeseen situation.
On Thursday, a Pentagon spokesman said at an official briefing, “The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is currently over the continental United States. The US government, including NORAD , continues to track and monitor it closely.
The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of such ballooning activity have been observed over the years. Once the balloon was discovered, the US government took immediate action to protect it from the collection of sensitive information.
Responding to a media question about whether he has contacted Chinese authorities, Ryder said, “We have made immediate contact with PRC authorities through multiple channels.” They are connected through their embassy here in Washington and through our embassy in Beijing.”
The defense official said the balloon had recently been over Montana and that officials were considering bringing the plane down with military property, but decided against doing so because of the risks involved. Canada’s Department of National Defense also said on Thursday (local time) that it was working with the US to track down a suspected high-altitude Chinese surveillance balloon, and that it was monitoring a “possible second incident”.
“A high altitude surveillance balloon was detected and its movements are being actively tracked by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the safety of its airspace.” Including monitoring for a possible second incident,” the Department of National Defense press release said.