The US is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States, defense officials said on Thursday, a discovery that risks adding further strain to tense US-China relations. Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the US government has been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States, adding 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.” Speaking on background, a senior US defense official said senior military officials had advised President Joe Biden not to shoot it down due to fear the debris could pose a safety threat to people on the ground.

“We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People’s Republic of China],” the senior defense official said. “Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration.” While the balloon’s current flight path carries it over “a number of sensitive sites,” the official said it does not present a significant intelligence gathering risk. The balloon is assessed to have “limited additive value” from an intelligence collection perspective, the official added. The US, the official said, is “taking steps nevertheless to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information. We are also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights, and continue to monitor the balloon as it was over the continental United States.” The US believes Chinese spy satellites in low Earth orbit are capable of offering similar or better intelligence, limiting the value of whatever Beijing can glean from the high-altitude balloon, which is the size of three buses, according to another defense official.

US national security officials have constantly warned about Chinese espionage efforts and the balloon’s presence in the US comes at a sensitive moment with Secretary of State Antony Blinken expected to travel to Beijing in the coming days, a significant trip meant to follow up on President Joe Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year. Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, said it is clear the US wanted to make China aware that it knew about the balloon before Blinken landed in China. “It sets the state for [an] extraordinary tense meeting between Blinken and Qin Gang,” Lipsky said, referring to the Chinese foreign minister. “It puts Chinese officials on the backfoot heading into the meetings.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to China as the Biden administration weighs a broader response to the discovery of a high-altitude Chinese balloon flying over sensitive sites in the western United States, a U.S. official said Friday.

The abrupt decision came despite China’s claim that the balloon was a weather research satellite that had blown off course. The U.S. has described it as a surveillance satellite.

tonguengroover wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 1:10 pm Capture the damned thing. Duh China would just to see what's in it.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his upcoming trip to China in response to the flying of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the United States, according to US officials. The Pentagon said Friday it knows it is a Chinese "surveillance" balloon that "violated US air space and international law," rejecting China's earlier claim that the balloon is a "civilian airship" for research that deviated from course. The Pentagon said the balloon doesn't present a current threat and the US continues to monitor it as it moves eastward over the central US. It said officials have assessed that shooting down the balloon would be dangerous, as it would create a "significant" debris field and potentially hurt people.

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.

China initially said the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that had strayed into US airspace after being blown off course. US officials, however, say they have “very high confidence” the balloon was being flown over America to collect information due to its maneuverability.

Balloon sightings happen with some frequency. In its January report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena — Pentagon jargon for UFOs — the Defense Department noted 163 of 366 reports (or 44%) could be “characterized as balloon or balloon-like entities,” though it’s unclear where the entities were spotted and from what countries they came. While this is not the first time a foreign spy balloon has floated through American airspace, there are several reasons why officials say this one stands out. First, the timing of the balloon’s flight is curious, as one State Department official noted: “This is the first time it’s happened on the eve of a planned secretary of state visit” to China. It was also spotted the same week the US confirmed a deal to increase its military presence in the Philippines, placing pressure on neighboring China and bringing US forces closer to Taiwan.

Aside from saying there is “a surveillance capability underneath” the balloon, it’s unclear exactly what the object can do — and is doing. While Ryder said much of the information about the device is classified, a senior defense official on Thursday said it’s unlikely it has any better data collection ability than a Chinese satellite — leaving open the question of why the balloon was sent across the Pacific in the first place.

TrueTexan wrote: Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:03 pm

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to China as the Biden administration weighs a broader response to the discovery of a high-altitude Chinese balloon flying over sensitive sites in the western United States, a U.S. official said Friday.

The abrupt decision came despite China’s claim that the balloon was a weather research satellite that had blown off course. The U.S. has described it as a surveillance satellite.

Full article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anthony- ... 0c7e0994bd

So it was a weather balloon blown off course. Was it suppose to collect weather data in Canada? Maybe it was a test of the high level winds to see what they could drop on the US like the Japanese did during WWII.

The Chinese spy balloon floating over the continental United States generated deep concern on Capitol Hill in part because it came on the heels of a classified report to Congress that outlined incidents of American adversaries potentially using advanced technology to spy on the country. The classified report to Congress last month discussed at least two incidents of a rival power conducting aerial surveillance with what appeared to be unknown cutting-edge technology, according to U.S. officials. While the report did not attribute the incidents to any country, two American officials familiar with the research said the surveillance probably was conducted by China. The report on what the intelligence agencies call unidentified aerial phenomenon focused on several incidents believed to be surveillance. Some of those incidents have involved balloons, while others have involved quadcopter drones.

The Chinese government said on Friday the Chinese balloon discovered this week over the United States was mainly for weather research. However, American officials said they have assessed it to be a collection device, though not one that could gather the kind of sensitive information that advanced Chinese reconnaissance satellites already collect. China spends about $209 billion, or 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, on its military overall, according to a Pentagon report. But policymakers in Washington have been especially worried about its investments in technologies that could have military or intelligence applications. U.S. defense officials believe China is conducting surveillance of military training grounds and exercises as part of an effort to better understand how America trains its pilots and undertakes complex military operations. The sites where unusual surveillance has occurred include a military base in the United States and a base overseas, officials said.

The surveillance incidents involving advanced technology and described in the classified report were potentially more troubling, involving behaviors and characteristics that could not be explained. Officials said that further investigation was needed but that the incidents could potentially indicate the use of technology that was not fully understood or publicly identified. Of the 171 reports that have not been attributed to balloons, drones or airborne trash, some “appear to have demonstrated unusual flight characteristics or performance capabilities, and require further analysis.” Officials cautioned that imperfect radar and sensor readings could cause confusion, making an ordinary object appear to be something threatening.

The Pentagon has released images of some of the suspected surveillance incidents that were initially unexplained. The images showed green triangles in the air taken near two different Navy exercises. At a congressional hearing last year, Pentagon officials said the triangles were simply small drones. The use of night-vision gear had made them look otherworldly. While the drones had not been officially attributed to any country, in one incident a Chinese ship was in the vicinity. It is not clear how strong the evidence is that China is using an advanced technology that the United States does not possess. Some American officials remain skeptical that China would risk exposing some of its most advanced technology in any surveillance activity that could be detected by the United States.

papajim2jordan wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 6:57 am 100,000 ft. is nearly 19 miles. Taking a page from the Abbot/DeSantis playbook, those three buses could have Chinese immigrants inside being shipped North. I agree with the decision not to shoot them down.

Oh, the humanity!