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

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder explained why officials have assessed it would be dangerous to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the continental United States.

"This is part of the calculus in terms of our overall assessment, but again, we'll continue to monitor it, we'll continue to review our options, and keep you updated as able."

The suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon is expected to remain above the US for a couple days, according to Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.

"Right now, we assess that it will probably be over the United States for a few days. But we'll continue to monitor and review our options and keep you updated as we can," he said at a press briefing.

Ryder earlier said he was unable to give a specific location, but the balloon is above the central continental US right now and moving eastward.

"Nothing has changed" in regard to keeping an open line of communication with China, according to Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, after officials told CNN that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to Beijing in response to the suspected Chinese spy balloon.

"I think we've been very clear that we're always open to maintaining an open line of communication with the PRC (People's Republic of China). And in that regard, nothing has changed. Nothing," Ryder said to reporters.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder flatly denied the Chinese government's claim that the balloon traveling over the continental United States serves a civilian research purpose.

"We are aware of the (People's Republic of China)'s statement," Ryder said at a press briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

"We do know that the balloon has violated US air space and international law, which is unacceptable," Ryder added. "And so we've conveyed this directly to the PRC at multiple levels."

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said North American Aerospace Defense Command continues to monitor the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon closely. 

It continues to move eastward and is over the central of the continental US, he added.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder is holding a news conference as officials track a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the northern United States.

The briefing at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, comes shortly after word that Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a trip to China in response to the balloon sighting.

Canada says it has summoned China’s ambassador to explain why a surveillance device entered Canadian airspace. A spokesperson for Global Affairs says Canada would like China to explain why and how its high-altitude monitoring device entered its airspace.

“Yesterday, China’s Ambassador to Canada was summoned by officials at Global Affairs Canada regarding the situation described in the statement issued by Canada’s Department of National Defence. We will continue to vigorously express our position to Chinese officials through multiple channels,” says Jason Kung, as a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada in a statement provided to CNN. 

In a statement Thursday, Canada’s Department of National Defence confirmed it had detected the monitoring device and said it continues to track the surveillance balloon along with NORAD and its US counterparts.

CNN has asked for clarification regarding the "second incident" mentioned in the statement but the Canadian government says it does not yet have any more information to share at this time.

As the US and its Canadian partners continue to monitor a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon floating above the northern United States, one question stands out among the rest: Why hasn’t it been shot down?

Officials have said that the balloon’s path carries it over a “number of sensitive sites” in the US. It has been seen over Montana, which is home to underground US military intercontinental ballistic missile silos. 

But ultimately, officials determined that the potential damage of falling debris outweighed the risk of the balloon itself, which they said does not have the ability to bring in more intelligence than spy satellites in low Earth orbit, which China already uses.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the balloon’s movements and requested options from his military advisers. And while there was consideration to down the balloon while it was over Montana, the advice was to ultimately not to.The Biden administration acted “immediately” to protect against the collection of sensitive intelligence, an official said on Thursday.

But that’s not to say that it couldn’t be shot down eventually; the senior defense official said on Thursday that the US has “options to deal with this balloon” if the risk it poses changes.

“We have communicated to [Chinese officials] the seriousness with which we take this issue. … But we have made clear we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people and our homeland,” the official said.

Officials decided to postpone Secretary of State Antony 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.

White House officials had viewed US-China relations as improving in the weeks following Biden's November meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Blinken's trip was to be the culmination of more robust talks between Washington and Beijing in the two months since the summit in Bali.

In the lead up to Blinken's trip, officials said it was possible that Biden and Xi could speak again at some point in the next several months.

But Biden has been sensitive to criticism from Republicans and others that he is too soft on China. He agreed with Pentagon recommendations not to shoot down the balloon, potentially endangering people on the ground, but he did want to demonstrate some type of response.

Officials also believed the timing of the balloon could throw off Blinken's agenda in Beijing, and did not necessarily want his visit to become solely about the incident.