Pentagon tracking suspected Chinese spy balloon over the US
(CNN) -- The Pentagon is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon over the continental United States, a senior defense official said on Thursday.
The Pentagon has been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States, Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said.
"We are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the [People's Republic of China]," a 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 said.
"The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground," Ryder said, adding that the US military decided against shooting the balloon down.
The official said the US government has engaged with the Chinese government both through the Chinese embassy in Washington and the US diplomatic mission in China.
It was the "strong recommendation" of senior military leaders, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, "not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field," the official said.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the balloon's movements and requested options on how to deal with it, according to another senior administration official.
Biden took Milley's advice not to order the balloon shot down and the official stressed that it does not pose a military threat emphasizing that the administration acted "immediately" to protect against the collection of sensitive information.
Sensitive moment with Blinken expected to visit China
The balloons 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. The conversation between the two leaders was "open and candid," Biden said at the time, adding that while he was not "suggesting this is kumbaya," he didn't believe there's need for concern of "a new Cold War." Tensions between the US and China escalated in August last year with the visit of then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, which resulted in China's announcement of military exercises at the same time.
The first senior administration official mentioned reports from Wednesday about a "ground stop" at Billings Airport in Montana, and the "mobilization of assets, including F-22s."
"The context for that was, it would put some things on station in the event that a decision was made to bring this down while it was over Montana," the official said. "So we wanted to make sure we were coordinating with civil authorities to empty out the airspace around that potential area."
However, it was ultimately the "strong recommendation" of senior military leaders, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, not to shoot it down due to the risk to safety of people on the ground.
"Why not shoot it down? We have to do the risk-reward here," the official said. "So the first question is, does it pose a threat, a physical kinetic threat, to individuals in the United States in the US homeland? Our assessment is it does not. Does it pose a threat to civilian aviation? Our assessment is it does not. Does it pose a significantly enhanced threat on the intelligence side? Our best assessment right now is that it does not. So given that profile, we assess the risk of downing it, even if the probability is low in a sparsely populated area of the debris falling and hurting someone or damaging property, that it wasn't worth it."
Montana is home to fields of underground Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos, one potential target for Chinese espionage.
The first senior defense official said on Thursday that if the risk of the balloon changes, the US "will have options to deal with this balloon."
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."
This story is been updated with additional developments.
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