China Claims The ‘Spy Balloon’ Was Accidentally Blown Off Course While Conducting Research

China claims that the alleged surveillance balloon was a civilian research “airship” that was blown off course.

The airship’s weak steering capacity was cited in a statement by its foreign minister as the reason it “deviated significantly from its planned course.”

It stated that China regrets the airship’s accidental intrusion into US airspace.

China had earlier on Friday claimed to be investigating US reports regarding the balloon.

According to Mao Ning, a spokesman for the foreign ministry said China is a “responsible country” which has “always strictly abided by international laws” and “has no intention to violate the territory and airspace of any sovereign countries”.

She added: “As for the balloon, as I’ve mentioned just now, we are looking into and verifying the situation and hope that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully.”

Ms. Mao said people should not judge “before we have a clear understanding of the facts”.

American officials claimed on Thursday that the alleged spy balloon had been observed over US airspace for a few days, but that the Pentagon had opted against shooting it down owing to the possibility that flying debris could injure people on the ground.

Apparently, a Chinese high-altitude balloon was flying over vital facilities to gather information, a senior defense official told reporters, adding that the US had “extremely high confidence” in this.

One of the states where the balloon was noticed was Montana, which is home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of the country’s three nuclear missile silo fields.

The government is still monitoring the balloon, according to a brief statement from Brig Gen Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary.

He stated that it was “traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground”.

According to the senior US defense official, fighter jets, including F-22s, have been placed on alert to shoot down the balloon at the White House’s request.

In the end, the Pentagon advised against it, stating that even if the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would still result in a large enough debris field to endanger humans.

The authority would not say how big the balloon was, but claimed that despite its great height, commercial pilots could see it.

The Billings Gazette snapped a photo of a sizable white balloon hovering over the region, but the Pentagon would not confirm whether or not that was the surveillance balloon.

The official continued that the balloon’s altitude and the amount of time it hovered over a particular area were alarming.

Additionally, Ms. Mao stated during a daily briefing that she was unaware of the status of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned travel to China scheduled for next week.

The highest ranking US official to visit China since the Covid epidemic started is Mr. Blinken, who is scheduled to land there on Friday. He will arrive as Beijing and Washington’s relations take a sharp turn for the worse over issues like trade, Taiwan, human rights, and China’s South China Sea territorial claims.