According to US information, a Chinese spy balloon is flying over the north of the USA. Before the US Secretary of State’s visit to Beijing, the incident caused new irritation in the tense relationship.
A Chinese spy balloon has been spotted over the northern United States, according to the US Department of Defense. China’s government says it is following the reports, but warned against hasty speculation. “We collect and check the facts,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in Beijing on Friday. “We hope that both sides will treat the matter with a cool head.”
The Wall Street Journal wrote that it was one of the most aggressive maneuvers by the Chinese secret services in years. The incident happened shortly before Antony Blinken’s visit to China, who is expected to be in Beijing on Sunday for the first visit by a US Secretary of State since October 2018. Relations are already strained.
The balloon was spotted over the northwestern state of Montana on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in Washington on Thursday. Its trajectory will be followed closely. F-22 fighter jets were also used for this purpose, the New York Times said. Air traffic in Montana’s largest city, Billings, has therefore been temporarily suspended. The Pentagon said it was considering shooting down the balloon. However, because of the danger posed by falling debris, the government decided against it. After the discovery, measures were taken to protect sensitive information.
Pentagon: No danger to people in the area
According to the Wall Street Journal, 150 Minuteman III ICBMs armed with nuclear warheads are stored at a US Air Force base in Montana. The balloon’s spy systems would only provide “limited added value” compared to information that China can gather with satellites.
One is sure that the balloon comes from China, it said from the Pentagon. Similar incidents have happened in the past. The difference this time is that the balloon stays longer than usual over the United States. The balloon does not pose a military threat or danger to people on the ground. The balloon is also said to be harmless to aircraft due to its high altitude. The US is in contact with China about the incident.
The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, on the other hand, spoke in a tweet of a “brazen disregard for US sovereignty”. US President Joe Biden must not remain silent about this “destabilizing action”, he demanded.
It was not known from where the balloon had taken off. The balloon had previously been sighted over the Aleutian archipelago, which largely belongs to Alaska, and then over Canada bordering Montana to the north, US media reported. It’s heading southeast and may be over the United States for several more days. The Canadians are safe, according to the Defense Department of the neighboring US state. With the US, Canadian intelligence agencies took “all necessary measures” to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence agencies.
Beijing: US should stay out of Taiwan conflict
Foreign Minister Blinken is expected to attend talks in Beijing on Sunday and Monday and, according to the New York Times, will also meet President Xi Jinping there. Issues of contention include China’s backing for Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, its threats against Taiwan, Beijing’s disputed claims in the South China Sea, the trade war, and American export controls on high-tech. China accuses the US of trying to curb its rise and of pursuing a new Cold War.
Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman also urged the US to stay out of the Taiwan conflict. The communist leadership regards the democratic island republic as part of China and threatens to conquer it. Taiwan, on the other hand, has long considered itself independent. The US has committed itself to the island’s defense capability, is supplying weapons and, like the federal government, rejects any violent change in the status quo as unacceptable.
Mao Ning was responding to warnings from CIA Director William Burns not to underestimate President Xi Jinping’s determination for military action. Taiwan is solely an “internal matter of China,” said the spokeswoman. The CIA director had said the US knew that Xi Jinping had instructed his military to be ready for an invasion of the island’s democratic republic by 2027. That’s not to say that he decided on a conquest that year, but remind you how serious he is about it.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
