Høytflygende ballong spionerer på USA mener CNN

SISTE kl 1545:

Kina: Det er en værballong ute av kurs

Det som amerikanske militære kilder mener kan være en kinesisk spionballong, er ifølge Kina en sivil ballong som samler inn meteorologiske data. Ballongen er ute av kurs, opplyser kinesiske myndigheter.

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Kina: "Vår?" Denne kan visstnok lett skytes ned, men Pentagon vil ikke i fare for at fallende deler skal skade folk. Mulighetene er veldig små for det siden dette er et veldig tynt befolket område, nemlig nær Billings, Montana. Skulle tro det gikk an å skyte en 20mm kule igjennom slik at gass lakk sakte ut og den sank langsomt til jorden. Det er sikkert noen jokere til denne ideen...... (Red.)

Pentagon tracking suspected Chinese spy balloon over the US

By Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky, Michael Conte and Nectar Gan, CNN

Updated 2:39 AM EST, Fri February 3, 20 Video Ad Feedback

06:22 w playing Video Ad Feedbac01Now playing

CNN  — 

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.

“It does not create significant value added over and above what the PRC is likely able to collect through things like satellites in low Earth orbit,” the senior defense 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, according to the 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.”

Biden has declared China “America’s most consequential geopolitical challenge” and competition between the two global superpowers is intense. Tensions have flared in recent years over the self-governing island of Taiwan, China’s human rights record and its military activities in the South China Sea, among a host of other issues.

China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday it was aware of reports of the incident but warned against “deliberate speculation.”

“[We] are trying to understand the circumstances and verify the details of the situation. I’d like to stress that before it becomes clear what happened, any deliberate speculation or hyping up would not help handling of the matter,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular news conference, in response to CNN’s query.

“China is a responsible country. We act in accordance with international law. We have no intention in violating other countries’ airspace. We hope relevant parties would handle the matter in a cool-headed way.”

Meanwhile, Canada said on Thursday evening it is also tracking the balloon’s movements and working with their American partners.