The United States military force works in monitoring and investigating the alleged “spy balloon of China” that looms in the Northern United States air territories. The balloon is said to continue hovering above the aforementioned region for several days. Because of this, the country’s defense and military leaders have made a decision to shoot and eliminate the said balloon.
General Pat Ryder, Pentagon’s spokesperson said to NBC News that the government of the United States has detected the appearance of the “spy balloon” which was also known to be something that serves as China’s high-altitude surveillance apparatus. He also added that the moment the said balloon was discovered, the US government immediately made the decision to conduct measures that aim to protect the country from illegal and unwanted collection of confidential and sensitive information.
The balloon was first seen on Wednesday, hovering in the airspace of Billings, Montana. It was seen flying over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Montana. According to a senior defense officer, the said balloon is still flying over the US area but he declined to mention its present location.
A meeting was convened on Wednesday and was participated by Lloyd Austin, US Defense Secretary, General Mark Milley, General Glen VanHerck, and other military commanders. During that time, Austin was on his way to the Philippines.
The presence of the Chinese balloon was rigidly reviewed by the leaders and recommended not to have it taken down by kinetic force. This is for the reason that it may pose potential risks to the security and safety of the dwellers down below. Hence, the issue was then presented to President Biden in order to come up with an appropriate and executive decision.
According to a senior officer of the Biden administration, the president was thoroughly informed and so he gave a “strong recommendation” not to destroy the said balloon. The official said that such instances or occurrences have been subjected for thorough observation in the past several years. After all, the government made its way to perform quick and immediate solutions to protect the country against unwanted collection and gathering of sensitive data.
Ryder was asked on Friday why the balloon wasn’t taken down. He said that proper assessments have been made and considered “falling debris and the potential damages and destructions they would create” to the structures and living population on the ground. Thus, the US government then decided not to destroy the balloon, as flying over the areas of the country did not pose any risk.
Ryder also added that he wasn’t able to give data pertaining to the “past incidents or occurrences” other than they have occurred due to the fact that “the information or data was classified.”
The United States made its way to communicate with China’s foreign ministry department. The ministry said that the city of Beijing was making its assessments in relation to the situation. It even added that the speculations and hypes made were very irrelevant and unhelpful. Facts are still on their way for further clarification.
During the daily briefing, a spokesperson for the Chinese government said that China is a very responsible country it always moves in accordance with international laws. In addition, the country has also no intention of contravening the airspace and territory laws of any country. He even added that the Chinese government hopes that this issue will be settled together with the US government in a calm, careful, and peaceful manner.
On Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry department declared that the ‘spy balloon’ was owned by China and was actually just a weather balloon that erroneously flew and diverged far from the expected course and direction.
