Chinese authorities said Friday that a suspected Beijing-operated spy balloon spotted hovering over sensitive U.S. airspace was in reality a civilian airship intended for scientific research.
China’s Foreign Ministry said in a press release that westerly wind had caused the airship to stray into U.S. territory, describing the incident in consequence of “force majeure” — or greater force — for which it was not responsible.
“The airship comes from China and is of a civilian nature, used for scientific research equivalent to meteorology,” in response to a Google translation of a statement on the foreign ministry’s website.
“Affected by the westerly wind and with limited self-control ability, the airship seriously deviated from the scheduled route,” it said.
“China regrets that the airship strayed into america because of force majeure. China will proceed to take care of communication with the US to properly handle the unexpected situation,” it added.
The statement comes hours after Beijing urged Washington to stay “cool-headed” amid its investigation into reports that the balloon had been hovering over sensitive U.S. airspace.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing earlier Friday that authorities were still learning concerning the matter, adding that politicians and the general public should withhold judgment “before we’ve a transparent understanding of the facts.”
We hope relevant parties would handle the matter in a cool-headed way.
Mao Ning
spokesperson, China’s Foreign Ministry
“We have now noticed relevant reports and are learning about this matter. What I would like to emphasise is that speculation and conjecture usually are not conducive to a correct settlement of the matter before the matter is clarified,” Mao said, via an NBC translation.
The U.S. accused China on Thursday of operating what it said was a possible surveillance balloon over sensitive locations that house nuclear weapons within the northern U.S., further escalating tensions between the 2 superpowers.
“China is a responsible country, and we act in accordance with international law. We have now no intention to violate other countries’ sovereignty and airspace,” Mao said, in response to a Sky News translation.
“As I said, we’re gathering and verifying the facts. We hope relevant parties would handle the matter in a cool-headed way,” she added.
Spotted over Montana
Footage of what appears to be a high-altitude balloon was captured by an eyewitness over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday. CNBC or NBC News couldn’t independently confirm the footage or discover the flying object.
It reportedly flew over the Aleutian Islands, through Canada, and into Montana. A senior defense official said the balloon remains to be over the U.S. but declined to say where it’s now.
After the sighting, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin convened a gathering of senior military and defense leaders and other combatant commanders to review the threat profile of the stratospheric balloon and temporary President Joe Biden on possible responses.
Such options included shooting down the balloon. That motion was ultimately dismissed due to potential risk to safety and security of individuals on the bottom from the possible debris field.
A senior defense official said authorities are continuing to observe the balloon closely and can take “all crucial steps” to guard against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.
“Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective over and above what the PRC can do through other means,” the official said. “Nevertheless, we’re taking all crucial steps to guard against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.”
The balloon doesn’t pose a threat to civil aviation due to its altitude, the official added.
Blinken’s Beijing visit
The newest escalation in U.S.-China tensions comes ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s scheduled visit to Beijing this week. Asked if the incident would impact Blinken’s travel to China, Mao said she had “no relevant information to date.”
Blinken was because of meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday during a two-day visit to China — the primary such visit by a U.S. secretary of State in nearly six years and the primary by a Biden administration Cabinet secretary.
The meeting was set by Biden and Xi on the G-20 in Bali, Indonesia, in November, in a bid to enhance ties which have grown increasingly fraught amid disputes over Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade, Taiwan, human rights and China’s claims within the South China Sea.
