The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Suspected Chinese spy balloon sightings reported across U.S. as Pentagon tracks it

Key updates
The Biden administration will brief the so-called Gang...
Suspected Chinese spy balloon not a threat unless conditions change, official says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told China’s foreign...
Bystanders captured video on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 of a suspected spy balloon floating over Montana. U.S. officials say the Pentagon has been monitoring the craft. (Video: The Washington Post)
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Updated February 3, 2023 at 7:57 p.m. EST|Published February 3, 2023 at 10:51 a.m. EST
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A suspected Chinese spy balloon flying above the United States is expected to remain over U.S. airspace “for a few days,” a Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, said Friday. Floating at an altitude of 60,000 feet, the balloon is being tracked but is not considered a threat to anyone on the ground.

U.S. officials decided not to shoot the balloon down, since falling debris could pose a threat to Americans on the ground. Military leaders made a “strong recommendation” not to shoot it down, and President Biden agreed, the White House said.

More Americans spotted the balloon Friday as it passed over Kansas and Missouri. It first crossed into U.S. territory over the Aleutian Islands last week, then moved over Alaska, part of Canada, and above Idaho and Montana, which is home to some of the United States’ nuclear missile silos. On Friday evening, it appeared to be continuing its easterly path across the country.

The Biden administration will brief the so-called Gang...
Suspected Chinese spy balloon not a threat unless conditions change, official says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told China’s foreign...

Here’s what to know

  • China’s Foreign Ministry released a statement Friday confirming that the balloon originated in China but said it is a weather balloon that drifted off course. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said U.S. officials were “confident” it is a surveillance balloon.
  • A panel of lawmakers that includes the top Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate, plus the heads of each chamber’s intelligence committee, will receive a briefing next week about the suspected Chinese spy balloon, according to an aide to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
  • Blinken postponed a planned trip to China in response to the Pentagon’s discovery of the surveillance aircraft. He called the presence of the balloon “an irresponsible act” and a violation of international law by Beijing.
  • The balloon is about the size of two or three buses, with sensors and other equipment carried underneath, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
  • It is unclear whether the balloon is following a predetermined path to loiter in certain places or is being controlled directly by Chinese operators.
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Here's what to know:

China’s Foreign Ministry released a statement Friday confirming that the balloon originated in China but said it is a weather balloon that drifted off course. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said U.S. officials were “confident” it is a surveillance balloon.
A panel of lawmakers that includes the top Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and the Senate, plus the heads of each chamber’s intelligence committee, will receive a briefing next week about the suspected Chinese spy balloon, according to an aide to Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Blinken postponed a planned trip to China in response to the Pentagon’s discovery of the surveillance aircraft. He called the presence of the balloon “an irresponsible act” and a violation of international law by Beijing.
The balloon is about the size of two or three buses, with sensors and other equipment carried underneath, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
It is unclear whether the balloon is following a predetermined path to loiter in certain places or is being controlled directly by Chinese operators.

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