US secretary of state postpones Beijing visit after Chinese spy balloon tracked flying across American airspace
3 February 2023, 05:40 | Updated: 3 February 2023, 21:05
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to Beijing after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across American airspace.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The abrupt decision came despite China's claim that the balloon was a weather research satellite that had blown off course. The US has described it as a surveillance satellite.
The decision came just hours before Mr Blinken had been due to depart Washington for Beijing and marked a new blow to already strained US-Chinese relations.
US president Joe Biden declined to comment when questioned at an economic event but former president Donald Trump said the US should have immediately shot down the balloon.
The US military is following the device, which is flying higher than civil air traffic but lower than outer space.
It was over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday, not far from a nuclear missile silo facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
"Clearly the intent of this balloon is for surveillance," a senior defence official said.
The balloon flew over the Alaskan Aleutian Islands and through Canada before arriving over the US.
The US government said it does not want to shoot down the balloon as it fears the debris could cause damage.
Read more: Fury as British Airways pilots and cabin crew 'banned from posting cockpit selfies' on social media
Officials will not say where the balloon is now.
Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon's press secretary, said: "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now.
"The US government, to include Norad, continues to track and monitor it closely.
"The balloon is currently travelling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.
"Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years.
"Once the balloon was detected, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information."
President Joe Biden has been presented with options as the military assess what kind of threat the device poses.
American officials are speaking to Chinese counterparts with "urgency".
It comes amid growing tensions over Taiwan, a country that mainland communist China views as a breakaway province.
There are fears Beijing could try to force reunification by launching an invasion, something the US has pledged to stop.
