February 3, 2023 Suspected Chinese spy balloon flies over the US

Prominent Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, are criticizing President Joe Biden's administration for not knocking the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon out of the sky.

As of Friday afternoon, a Pentagon spokesperson said downing the balloon would create a "significant" debris field and potentially hurt or kill people on the ground.

The Pentagon has repeatedly declined to say whether the US is considering shooting the balloon down if it is over a body of water and won't pose a risk to people on the ground.

Remember: US officials have said the balloon does not have the ability to bring in more intelligence than spy satellites in low Earth orbit, which China already uses. 

Here is what some of the administration's critics said Friday:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the first step to addressing a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States is simple — to get it out of US airspace.

Blinken postponed his trip to China this weekend because of the incident, saying the balloon created conditions that undermined the purpose of the trip which was to “build a floor under the relationship” and address a broad range of issues. Blinken said he told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that he would not travel to Beijing, according to a readout from State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

“The Secretary noted the PRC’s statement of regret but conveyed that this is an irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip,” the readout said.

During the news conference, Blinken underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open while the issue of the balloon is resolved. He said he plans to visit China "when conditions allow."

Some background: The Pentagon has said officials have assessed that shooting down the balloon would be dangerous, possibly creating a debris field and potentially hurting people. Officials said they are continuing to monitor the balloon as it moves over the central US.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he is postponing his trip this weekend to China in light of the suspected Chinese spy balloon heading across the US.

"We're confident this is a Chinese surveillance balloon," he said.

Blinken said that it was “detrimental” to discussions that officials planned to have during his visit. He added that the US and China will continue to keep lines of communication open, including to address the balloon.

“Once we detected the balloon, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Blinken said at a news conference Friday. “We communicated with the PRC (People's Republic of China) government directly through multiple channels about this issue. Members of my team consulted with our partners in other agencies, and in Congress. We also engaged our close allies and partners to inform them of the presence of the surveillance balloon in our airspace.”

Blinken said he told the Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi this morning that the balloon flight was an "irresponsible act" and a "clear violation of US sovereignty" and international law.

He said he plans to visit Beijing "when conditions allow."

CNN's Jennifer Hansler contributed to this post.

Pilots flying at high altitudes have spotted the suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifts over the central United States.

“Derelict balloon adrift,” noted the crew of a Cessna Citation private jet in a weather report, which came into the Federal Aviation Administration around 11:30 a.m. ET.

The pilot of the flight, which was at 43,000 feet, said the balloon was 20 miles north of Kansas City International Airport at about 50,000 feet. The publicly-available pilot weather observation is known as a Pilot Report or PIREP.

A source familiar with the situation tells CNN that other pilots are reporting seeing the balloon to air traffic controllers.

President Joe Biden was first briefed Tuesday on the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that is hovering over the US as it moves eastward in the coming days, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The president has since "continued to receive regular briefings and updates from the National Security Team," she said.

"President Biden took that recommendation of the military seriously —of his advisers, clearly. The President will always put the security and security of the American people first," Jean-Pierre added.

Briefings to Congress: Congress has been briefed on China’s “surveillance balloon activities” in the past, the official said, including a briefing for “key committees” that took place last August, a White House official told CNN.   

Staff members for the top Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate intelligence committee were briefed Thursday afternoon, and the official added that Department of Defense and State Department officials briefed leadership staff and national security staff on Friday. The administration has “also provided additional detail in writing.”

There are also efforts to brief lawmakers behind closed doors next week when Congress returns. “We are working on additional classified briefings for Congress next week,” the official said.

Jean-Pierre also said Friday Biden “agreed” with Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s decision “that it was not appropriate to travel to the People's Republic of China at this time,” acknowledging that while China has issued a “statement of regret... the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law and it is unacceptable.”

Officials decided to postpone Blinken's visit to China after high-level conversations between Blinken, President Joe Biden and other top national security officials, according to people familiar with the matter.

The National Weather Service in Kansas City tweeted images of what it says is a large balloon in the Kansas City area and suburb of Pleasant Hill as a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon moves eastward over the US. 

The weather service said it could see the balloon from its office and added that it is not one of its own weather balloons.

CNN has reached out to the NWS and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas for more details.

United Nations Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Friday during a press briefing that the UN is concerned “whenever there are heightened tensions between China and the US.”

Dujarric was asked about UN Secretary-General António Guterres' thoughts on the postponement of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China.

“On this particular incident, obviously the two will have to navigate it. But given the global leadership position of both countries, I think it is incumbent on them to do whatever they can to lower tensions,” Dujarric said. 

A suspected Chinese spy balloon currently above the US resulted in an hours-long grounding of commercial flights in a swath of airspace at least 200 miles long, according to a new statement from the Billings, Montana, airport and a source familiar with the situation.

A source familiar with the situation told CNN that the ground stop was for Department of Defense activity. 

During a briefing with reporters Thursday, a senior defense official said “we wanted to make sure we were coordinating with civil authorities to empty out the airspace around that potential area” in case the military decided to shoot down the balloon. 

The Federal Aviation Administration, whose control over airspace ends at 60,000 feet above sea level, declined to comment.

On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said during a briefing that the balloon is assessed to be at about 60,000 feet above the ground.

The Billings airport said the flight impacts were minimal because of what time it happened. 

“The Ground Stop happened mid-afternoon when Billings Logan International Airport has very few flights. A total of three flights experienced delays; two inbound flights were diverted and arrived in Billings late, and an outbound United Airlines flight was also delayed,” the statement said. 

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Friday that the US Defense Department knows the suspected surveillance balloon floating over the northern US “has the ability to maneuver.” 

The spokesperson did not indicate any details on how it can be maneuvered. 

Ryder said the balloon is assessed to be at about 60,000 feet above the ground.

Sources familiar with the matter previously told CNN that the balloon’s movement relies primarily on the jet stream. Ryder added on Friday that the balloon “has changed its course which, again, is why we’re monitoring it.”

Chinese officials said on Friday that the balloon is a “civilian airship” used for research that “deviated far from its planned course.”

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