In recent days, the balloon, which is just under 40 meters in diameter, has been hovering over the American mainland. On Saturday afternoon, ABC News reports that the United States is considering shooting down the balloon if it crosses the Atlantic Ocean. The Americans should be interested in studying the balloon. An anonymous government source has told the American newspaper that the United States plans to shoot the balloon down so that it lands in American waters. According to the source, the shooting down will probably require a significant area in the air to be closed, in order to ensure the safety of the population. It appears that the balloon is headed for the state of North Carolina, which is located in the east of the United States. The wind direction suggests that the balloon came from the central part of China. China claims it is a research balloon that is off course. A video filmed in Montana purports to show the suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been flying over the United States for several days. USA: Monitoring equipment On Friday, the balloon was in the state of Montana, in the far north of the USA. It should then have been approximately 14 kilometers above the ground. Friday afternoon US time, the balloon changed course. According to the US Department of Defense, the balloon carries surveillance equipment. The Pentagon will not release the balloon’s exact position, but says people can look up in the sky. – The balloon will probably be in American airspace for a few more days, says the Ministry of Defense’s spokesperson Patrick Ryder to the American media. Possible observation in Canada On the night of Friday Norwegian time, the Canadian Defense Forces also reported a possible balloon moving in their airspace. – Canadians are safe and Canada is working to secure the airspace, writes the defense in a statement. The Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that it has asked the Chinese ambassador for an explanation of the observation in Canadian airspace. Postpones visit to China US Secretary of State Antony Blinken chooses to postpone his visit to China as a result of the balloon incident, the US State Department announced on Friday morning US time. – Job number one is to get the Chinese balloon out of our airspace, Blinken said at a press conference after a meeting with South Korea’s foreign minister Park Jin. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference with South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin on Friday 3 February, where Blinken commented on the Chinese spy balloon. Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / Reuters Blinken expressed that it was very irresponsible of the Chinese to send up such a balloon before a meeting between the countries. The visit was supposed to have started on Sunday, and the foreign minister was supposed to meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang and probably President Xi Jinping. The visit will be carried out as soon as “the conditions are right”, it says. – The Chinese balloon created conditions that undermine the purpose of the visit, Blinken said. The Americans fear that a dispute about the spy balloon would overshadow other important topics that need to be talked about. Orientation The balloon must have been observed at close range by F-22 fighters. This is reported by NBC News. Some of the planes were practicing nearby. – When the balloon was discovered, the US authorities reacted immediately to prevent the collection of sensitive information, said Patrick Ryder yesterday. American media received a more thorough briefing on Thursday evening about the balloon. The information came from a military source who cannot be named. – We are very, very sure that this spy balloon comes from China, said this source. SIMPLE OBJECTIVE: The US Air Force reportedly sent the F-22 Raptor fighter jet up to the balloon. They can easily shoot it down, but the order did not come. Photo: US AIR FORCE / Reuters Weather balloon off course On Friday afternoon, the response came from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a statement, it was stated that the balloon is Chinese. And that it is a civilian research balloon, which mainly collects meteorological and other scientific data. At the same time, Beijing apologizes that the balloon has gone astray and has inadvertently sailed into American airspace. Chinese authorities say they will work with the US to deal with the situation. DO NOT REFUSE: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning asks everyone to treat the balloon issue calmly. Photo: Liu Zheng / AP Persistent diplomacy The Americans have spent the last few days communicating with the Chinese about the balloon. – We have communicated persistently with the Chinese about this. We have done this through several channels. Both through the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC and our embassy in Beijing, the military source said. An official says on Friday afternoon that they have noted China’s apology. – We have noted the statement in which the Chinese authorities apologize for what has happened. But the Chinese balloon, which is still in our airspace, is a clear violation of our sovereignty and a violation of international law. And it is unacceptable that this has occurred, it says. They are also confident that communication with China will continue, even if the US Secretary of State chooses to postpone the visit to China. Not much of added value The US Department of Defense Pentagon claims the balloon poses no particular intelligence threat. – At this point, our opinion is that the balloon does not give the Chinese any more information than what they already collect with other methods, said the source. China has spy satellites that pass over the US mainland daily. The source said the US military had taken additional steps anyway to prevent the balloon from collecting sensitive information. What these steps are, the source did not say. – We know exactly where this balloon is. We know what it passes over, said the source. CHINA: An analysis of the wind direction over the last few days at the height of the balloon suggests that it was released over the central part of China. Photo: Dan Satterfield/Twitter Danger on the ground The balloon has been described as “as big as three buses” in the American media. It can therefore have a relatively significant payload. American authorities have previously stated that they have not chosen to shoot down the balloon because the risk is too great. – We considered that the remains of the balloon would be of such a significant size that they would cause a risk of damage to the ground. Yesterday we considered shooting it down over a sparsely populated place in Montana. We didn’t manage to get the risk down enough for us to be comfortable with such a solution, the military source told US media. The spokesperson in the Pentagon states that the balloon is hovering higher than the height normal air traffic maintains. – It is not a danger to either air traffic or people on the ground, assures Patrick Ryder. New suspicious balloon observed over South America Not the first time American authorities have known about the balloon for some time. They must have observed it before it entered the North American mainland. – This is not the first time this has happened either. We have observed this type of activity on several occasions in recent years, says spokesman Ryder. The unnamed source added that this has happened “a handful of times over the past few years.” What stands out this time is how long the balloon has stayed in American airspace. It was on Wednesday that the balloon became publicly known. Then it was over Billings, Montana. Air traffic in the area was closed for two hours. The American Defense Forces claimed last night on Friday that Norwegian time it entered American territory “a couple of days ago”.
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The US is considering shooting down a giant balloon over the Atlantic Ocean – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
