The US tracked a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon seen over US airspace for several days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down because of the risk of harm to people on the ground, officials said Thursday. The discovery of the balloon has reignited tensions in US-China relations at a time of heightened tensions.
A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the US has “very high confidence” that China’s balloons are flying high and flying over sensitive sites to gather information. One of the places where the balloons were found was Montana, which is home to one of the three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
Brig. General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government was continuing to track the balloon. He said it “now travels at higher altitudes than commercial air traffic and poses no military or physical threat to people on the ground.”
He said similar ballooning activity has been seen in the past few years. He added that the US is taking steps to ensure it does not collect sensitive information.
The defense official said the US had “engaged” Chinese officials through multiple channels and told them they were serious about the matter.
The incident comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to make his first trip to Beijing, expected this weekend, to try to find common ground. Although the trip has not been officially announced, Beijing and Washington have talked about its arrival.
It’s unclear whether the discovery of the balloon will affect Blinken’s travel plans.
A senior defense official said the US had fighter jets, including F-22s, ready to shoot down the balloons if ordered by the White House. The Pentagon eventually recommended against it, saying that because the balloon was in a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would have created a debris field large enough to put people at risk.
It is unclear what the military did to prevent it from collecting sensitive information or what would have happened to the balloons if they had not been shot down.
Defense officials said the spy balloon was trying to fly over a Montana missile field, but the US has said the balloon has “limited” value in providing China with intelligence it has not been able to gather in other ways, such as through spy satellites. .
Officials did not specify the size of the balloon, but said it was large enough that, even at its height, commercial pilots could see it. All air traffic at Montana’s Billings Logan International Airport was halted from 1:30pm to 3:30pm Wednesday, as the military briefed the White House. A photo of a large white balloon over the area was obtained by the Billings Gazette, but the Pentagon would not confirm that it was a surveillance balloon.
Defense officials said their concerns about this launch were the height of the balloons and the length of time they remained in one location, without giving specific details.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said he was notified Wednesday of the situation after the Montana National Guard was notified of military operations underway in Montana airspace, according to a statement from the Republican governor and spokeswoman Brooke Stroyke.
“From spy balloons to the Chinese Communist Party spying on America via TikTok to CCP-linked companies buying up American farmland, I am deeply concerned by the continuing developments that threaten our national security,” Gianforte said in a statement.
Tensions with China are particularly high on many issues, from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights in China’s western Xinjiang region and the clampdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Not least on the list of irritants are China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its refusal to rein in North Korea’s ballistic missile program and disputes over trade and technology.
On Tuesday, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put the navy on alert and active missile systems in response to close operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part of Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the island-governing democracy.
Twenty of the planes crossed the center line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides, which separated during a civil war in 1949.
Beijing is also ramping up preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan, raising concerns among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the US, Taiwan’s main ally.
The surveillance balloon was first reported by NBC News.
Some Montana residents reported seeing unusual objects in the sky when the airport was closed Wednesday, but it was unclear if what they saw was a balloon.
From his office window in Billings, Chase Doak said he saw “a big white circle in the sky” that he said was too small for the moon.
He took a few photos, then ran home to grab a camera with a stronger lens and took more photos and videos. He could see about 45 minutes and it seemed to hold up, but Doak said the video suggests slowing down.
“I thought maybe it was a legitimate UFO,” he said. “So I want to make sure I document and take as many photos as possible.”
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