Voice of America
03 Feb 2023, 10:05 GMT+10
WASHINGTON - The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down because of the risk it could harm people on the ground, officials said Thursday.
A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has 'very high confidence' it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation's three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government continues to track the balloon. He said it 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.'
He said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years. He added that the U.S. took steps to ensure it did not collect sensitive information.
The defense official said the U.S. has 'engaged' Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated the seriousness of the matter.
The Pentagon announcement comes days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China. It's not clear if this will affect his travel plans, which the State Department has not formally announced.
Get a daily dose of Manila Metro news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Manila Metro.
More InformationBEIJING, China: Following the inability of China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd to release financial reporting obligations in 2020, China ...
BLUE MOUNTAINS, Sydney, NSW, Australia - A search in the Blue Mountains for a man that was launched on Sunday ...
BERLIN, Germany: Germany will send a cabinet minister to visit Taiwan next week, at a time when Berlin is reviewing ...
HANOI, Vietnam: SpaceX, Netflix and Boeing will join what is described as the "biggest-ever" U.S. business mission to meet in ...
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Reuters reported that after winning an order to manufacture wireless AirPods earphones for Apple for the first time, ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US government has charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with being the mastermind behind a complex conspiracy ...
FRANKFURT, GERMANY: Authorities said that as part of a crackdown on gangs suspected of blowing up ATM machines and stealing ...
BERLIN, Germany: Germany will send a cabinet minister to visit Taiwan next week, at a time when Berlin is reviewing ...
ZURICH, Switzerland - Depositors will be fully protected, shareholders will have their equity dwarfed, while bond holders will be largely ...
ATLANTA, Georgia: Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week showed that in 2021 during the ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Demands by environmentalists have resulted in the passing of rules in which natural gas-powered furnaces and water ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US government has charged exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui with being the mastermind behind a complex conspiracy ...