President Biden asked his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was in the Philippines on Wednesday, to provide him with options. The latter then held discussions with the chiefs of staff of the Pentagon. Fighter jets approached the craft over Montana
Lhe Pentagon has been tracking the movements of a Chinese spy balloon flying at high altitude over United States territory and sensitive military sites for several days, an episode that has reignited tensions between the two rival superpowers a few days of a planned visit by US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken to China.
At the request of President Joe Biden, the Pentagon considered shooting down the balloon, which had been detected for about two days, but the decision was made not to do so due to the risks posed by the debris to those on the ground. , a senior US defense official told reporters on Thursday, on condition of anonymity. “We have no doubt that the ball is from China,” he said.
“We are taking steps to protect ourselves against the collection of sensitive information,” he said, while insisting on “the limited added value in terms of information collection” of the device, described as a balloon with fairly large dimensions.
How Taiwan is preparing for a war with China
“We considered that it was large enough for the debris to cause damage” if it had been shot down in a populated area, according to the same source.
The balloon entered US airspace ‘about two days ago’ but US intelligence was already monitoring it, the same source said, adding that it was not the first time that the US military saw such an intrusion.
This time, however, the balloon remained in United States airspace much longer.
Made aware, President Biden immediately asked his Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was in the Philippines on Wednesday, to provide him with options. The latter then held discussions with the chiefs of staff of the Pentagon. Fighter jets approached the craft over Montana, according to the same source.
After bullhorn diplomacy, Australia heals its relations with China and the United States
“A destabilizing action”
The Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, denounced a “destabilizing action” by a China which “shamelessly disregards the sovereignty of the United States”. He called on Joe Biden to “not be silent”.
Antony Blinken’s trip to China, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, should be the first visit to the country by a US secretary of state since October 2018, as the two superpowers seek to avoid the heightened tensions between them. oppose do not degenerate into open conflict.
Among the many contentious issues are Taiwan, which China claims as an integral part of its territory, and China’s activities in Southeast Asia.
In the Philippines, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin signed agreements on Thursday aimed at strengthening the US military presence there in the face of the rise of China.
China comes out of silence
Beijing said on Friday it is verifying US reports that a Chinese spy balloon has been detected over North America and urged not to “escalate the issue”.
