(Updated with statements from Beijing)
by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – A Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for two days, US authorities said, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to visit Beijing on Sunday and Monday.
Fighter jets were put on alert but the military ultimately deemed it too risky to shoot down the craft due to possible falling debris.
The United States placed the spy balloon under surveillance when it entered American airspace and it is observed by Air Force aircraft, a representative of the administration told reporters.
The Canadian Ministry of Defense also said it had spotted a “high altitude surveillance balloon”, specifying that it was in frequent contact with American authorities.
“The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above that of commercial air traffic and does not pose a military or physical threat to those on the ground,” said Pentagon spokesman Gen. Patrick Ryder.
In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday that the “airship” was intended in particular for civil meteorological purposes and said it regretted that it had entered American airspace.
“The airship is from China and is civilian in nature, used for meteorological research and other scientific research. Due to the influence of westerly winds and its limited control ability, the airship deviated from its course expected,” the ministry said.
“China will continue to maintain communication with the US side to properly handle this accident,” he added.
US officials have expressed concern to their Chinese counterparts through diplomatic channels.
BLINKEN EXPECTED SUNDAY IN BEIJING
The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, is due to travel to Beijing on Sunday and Monday for talks with Chinese leaders, a visit agreed to by Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping at their summit last November, and the first of a US Secretary of State in China since Mike Pompeo in October 2018.
The two leading economic powers in the world maintain an acute rivalry in many areas but are also seeking to emerge from a phase of strong bilateral tensions which culminated last summer with the visit to Taiwan of Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House of Representatives. .
A Republican senator, Tom Cotton, urged Antony Blinken to cancel his visit. Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy has called for a meeting of the “Gang of Eight,” which includes administration officials, congressional leaders and the chairmen of the House Intelligence Committees.
The balloon offers only “limited intelligence-gathering value,” a senior US official said.
The command of the American army considered shooting down the machine over the State of Montana before changing its mind, recommending to President Joe Biden to avoid any security risk that the fall of the debris from the craft, a senior Pentagon official said.
Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this one appears to be traveling longer, the Pentagon official said.
If they indicated that the trajectory of the balloon included the overflight of “sensitive” sites, the American authorities refused to give more details. (Report Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; French version Jean Terzian, Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Blandine Hénault, edited by Matthieu Protard)
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