CHINA AND BALLOON
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5 minute readFebruary 3, 20238:23 PM CSTLast Updated 42 min ago
Blinken postpones China trip over ‘unacceptable’ Chinese spy balloon
By Humeyra Pamuk, Idrees Ali and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States in what Washington called a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty.
Military leaders considered shooting down the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Wednesday but eventually recommended against this to President Joe Biden because of the safety risk from debris, officials said.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The Pentagon said on Friday that another Chinese balloon was observed over Latin America, without saying where exactly.
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“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on Tuesday about the balloon flight over the United States and there was an administration “consensus that it was not appropriate to travel to the People’s Republic of China at this time.”
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China expressed regret that an “airship” used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had strayed into U.S. airspace.
Jean-Pierre said the U.S. administration was aware of China’s statement “but the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. It is unacceptable this occurred.”
On Friday, Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the balloon had changed course and was floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above the central United States and demonstrating a capability to maneuver. He said it would likely be over the country for a few more days.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Commercial forecaster AccuWeather said the balloon would potentially leave the United States and move over the Atlantic on Saturday evening. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News it would be good to recover the balloon “one way or another” to see “if it was designed to actually collect data or if it was designed to test our response capabilities.”
The Pentagon’s disclosure about the balloon’s maneuverability directly challenges China’s assertion about it being blown off course.
At a news conference with South Korea’s visiting foreign minister on Friday, Blinken said he had told Wang Yi, director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, that the incident on the eve of his trip was an “irresponsible act” by China, but Washington remained committed to engagement and he would visit when conditions allowed.
Blinken said he would not put a date on when he might go to China and the focus was on resolving the current incident. “The first step is … getting the surveillance asset out of our air space,” he said, adding that Washington would maintain open lines of communication with China.
The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said the balloon should never have been allowed in U.S. airspace and could have been shot down over water.
“I am calling on the Biden administration to quickly take steps to remove the Chinese spy balloon from U.S. airspace,” he said in a statement.
[1/3] A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Chase Doak/via REUTERS123
China’s foreign ministry said in statements on Saturday that the flight of the “airship” over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.
It said Wang had told Blinken during their phone call that both parties needed to communicate in a timely manner and avoid any misjudgments.
LOST OPPORTUNITY?
A White House official said the administration had briefed staff of the so-called Gang of 8, which brings together Republican and Democratic leaders from the Senate and House, on Thursday afternoon.
The official said such balloon surveillance activity had “been observed over the past several years, including in the prior administration – we have kept Congress briefed on this issue.”
The postponing of Blinken’s trip, which had been agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, is a blow to those who saw it as an overdue opportunity to stabilize an increasingly fractious relationship. The last visit by a U.S. secretary of state was in 2017.
China is keen for a stable U.S. relationship so it can focus on its economy, battered by the now-abandoned zero-COVID policy and neglected by foreign investors alarmed by what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.
In recent months Chinese leader Xi has met with world leaders, seeking to re-establish ties and settle disagreements.
Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia under former President Barack Obama, said he did not see a strategic rationale for canceling the trip and stressed the importance of maintaining high-level engagement with China.
“In as much as the U.S. has much bigger fish to fry with the Chinese than a surveillance balloon, the Biden team may be inclined to pick up where they left off after a decent interval,” he said. Sino-U.S. relations have soured significantly in recent years, particularly following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, which prompted dramatic Chinese military drills near the self-ruled island.
LIMITED INTELLIGENCE VALUE
The Pentagon’s Ryder told reporters on Thursday the balloon was at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and did not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. One U.S. official added it was assessed to have “limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
Another official said on Thursday the flight path would carry the balloon over a number of sensitive sites, but did not give details. Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos.
Ryder declined on Friday to say where precisely the balloon was, but as he spoke, the National Weather Service in Kansas City said on Twitter it had received multiple reports across northwestern Missouri of a large balloon.
China has often complained about surveillance by the United States, including its deployment of ships or planes near Chinese military exercises.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register nowReporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk, Phil Stewart, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson and Simon Lewis in Washington; additional reporting by Tony Munroe, Ryan Woo and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Lion Schellerer in Singapore and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Don Durfee, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Idrees Ali
Thomson Reuters
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
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Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionalsReuters home
5 minute readFebruary 3, 20238:23 PM CSTLast Updated 42 min ago
Blinken postpones China trip over ‘unacceptable’ Chinese spy balloon
By Humeyra Pamuk, Idrees Ali and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States in what Washington called a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty.
Military leaders considered shooting down the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Wednesday but eventually recommended against this to President Joe Biden because of the safety risk from debris, officials said.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The Pentagon said on Friday that another Chinese balloon was observed over Latin America, without saying where exactly.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register now
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on Tuesday about the balloon flight over the United States and there was an administration “consensus that it was not appropriate to travel to the People’s Republic of China at this time.”
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China expressed regret that an “airship” used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had strayed into U.S. airspace.
Jean-Pierre said the U.S. administration was aware of China’s statement “but the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. It is unacceptable this occurred.”
On Friday, Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the balloon had changed course and was floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above the central United States and demonstrating a capability to maneuver. He said it would likely be over the country for a few more days.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Commercial forecaster AccuWeather said the balloon would potentially leave the United States and move over the Atlantic on Saturday evening. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News it would be good to recover the balloon “one way or another” to see “if it was designed to actually collect data or if it was designed to test our response capabilities.”
The Pentagon’s disclosure about the balloon’s maneuverability directly challenges China’s assertion about it being blown off course.
At a news conference with South Korea’s visiting foreign minister on Friday, Blinken said he had told Wang Yi, director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, that the incident on the eve of his trip was an “irresponsible act” by China, but Washington remained committed to engagement and he would visit when conditions allowed.
Blinken said he would not put a date on when he might go to China and the focus was on resolving the current incident. “The first step is … getting the surveillance asset out of our air space,” he said, adding that Washington would maintain open lines of communication with China.
The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said the balloon should never have been allowed in U.S. airspace and could have been shot down over water.
“I am calling on the Biden administration to quickly take steps to remove the Chinese spy balloon from U.S. airspace,” he said in a statement.
[1/3] A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Chase Doak/via REUTERS123
China’s foreign ministry said in statements on Saturday that the flight of the “airship” over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.
It said Wang had told Blinken during their phone call that both parties needed to communicate in a timely manner and avoid any misjudgments.
LOST OPPORTUNITY?
A White House official said the administration had briefed staff of the so-called Gang of 8, which brings together Republican and Democratic leaders from the Senate and House, on Thursday afternoon.
The official said such balloon surveillance activity had “been observed over the past several years, including in the prior administration – we have kept Congress briefed on this issue.”
The postponing of Blinken’s trip, which had been agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, is a blow to those who saw it as an overdue opportunity to stabilize an increasingly fractious relationship. The last visit by a U.S. secretary of state was in 2017.
China is keen for a stable U.S. relationship so it can focus on its economy, battered by the now-abandoned zero-COVID policy and neglected by foreign investors alarmed by what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.
In recent months Chinese leader Xi has met with world leaders, seeking to re-establish ties and settle disagreements.
Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia under former President Barack Obama, said he did not see a strategic rationale for canceling the trip and stressed the importance of maintaining high-level engagement with China.
“In as much as the U.S. has much bigger fish to fry with the Chinese than a surveillance balloon, the Biden team may be inclined to pick up where they left off after a decent interval,” he said. Sino-U.S. relations have soured significantly in recent years, particularly following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, which prompted dramatic Chinese military drills near the self-ruled island.
LIMITED INTELLIGENCE VALUE
The Pentagon’s Ryder told reporters on Thursday the balloon was at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and did not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. One U.S. official added it was assessed to have “limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
Another official said on Thursday the flight path would carry the balloon over a number of sensitive sites, but did not give details. Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos.
Ryder declined on Friday to say where precisely the balloon was, but as he spoke, the National Weather Service in Kansas City said on Twitter it had received multiple reports across northwestern Missouri of a large balloon.
China has often complained about surveillance by the United States, including its deployment of ships or planes near Chinese military exercises.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register nowReporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk, Phil Stewart, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson and Simon Lewis in Washington; additional reporting by Tony Munroe, Ryan Woo and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Lion Schellerer in Singapore and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Don Durfee, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Idrees Ali
Thomson Reuters
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
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- ChinacategoryChina foreign ministry: ‘airship’ over the U.S. a ‘force majeure accident’, article with gallery
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Reuters Daily Briefing
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- Canada withdraws proposed measures banning certain rifles, shotguns, article with imageAmericascategory · February 3, 2023 · 2:23 PM CSTCanada has withdrawn proposed amendments to gun legislation that would have banned certain types of rifles and shotguns, the government said on Friday, after opponents alleged the prohibitions unfairly targeted farmers and hunters.
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- AmericascategoryHaitians seen crushing into migration centers seeking passports to U.S., article with gallery8:37 PM CST . Updated 28 min ago
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Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionalsReuters home
5 minute readFebruary 3, 20238:23 PM CSTLast Updated 42 min ago
Blinken postpones China trip over ‘unacceptable’ Chinese spy balloon
By Humeyra Pamuk, Idrees Ali and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States in what Washington called a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty.
Military leaders considered shooting down the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Wednesday but eventually recommended against this to President Joe Biden because of the safety risk from debris, officials said.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The Pentagon said on Friday that another Chinese balloon was observed over Latin America, without saying where exactly.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register now
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on Tuesday about the balloon flight over the United States and there was an administration “consensus that it was not appropriate to travel to the People’s Republic of China at this time.”
Latest Updates
- China balloon soaring over U.S. deflates hopes for diplomatic thaw
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- Zelenskiy vows to defend ‘fortress’ Bakhmut, hosts EU leaders in Kyiv
China expressed regret that an “airship” used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had strayed into U.S. airspace.
Jean-Pierre said the U.S. administration was aware of China’s statement “but the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. It is unacceptable this occurred.”
On Friday, Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the balloon had changed course and was floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above the central United States and demonstrating a capability to maneuver. He said it would likely be over the country for a few more days.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Commercial forecaster AccuWeather said the balloon would potentially leave the United States and move over the Atlantic on Saturday evening. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News it would be good to recover the balloon “one way or another” to see “if it was designed to actually collect data or if it was designed to test our response capabilities.”
The Pentagon’s disclosure about the balloon’s maneuverability directly challenges China’s assertion about it being blown off course.
At a news conference with South Korea’s visiting foreign minister on Friday, Blinken said he had told Wang Yi, director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, that the incident on the eve of his trip was an “irresponsible act” by China, but Washington remained committed to engagement and he would visit when conditions allowed.
Blinken said he would not put a date on when he might go to China and the focus was on resolving the current incident. “The first step is … getting the surveillance asset out of our air space,” he said, adding that Washington would maintain open lines of communication with China.
The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said the balloon should never have been allowed in U.S. airspace and could have been shot down over water.
“I am calling on the Biden administration to quickly take steps to remove the Chinese spy balloon from U.S. airspace,” he said in a statement.
[1/3] A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Chase Doak/via REUTERS123
China’s foreign ministry said in statements on Saturday that the flight of the “airship” over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.
It said Wang had told Blinken during their phone call that both parties needed to communicate in a timely manner and avoid any misjudgments.
LOST OPPORTUNITY?
A White House official said the administration had briefed staff of the so-called Gang of 8, which brings together Republican and Democratic leaders from the Senate and House, on Thursday afternoon.
The official said such balloon surveillance activity had “been observed over the past several years, including in the prior administration – we have kept Congress briefed on this issue.”
The postponing of Blinken’s trip, which had been agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, is a blow to those who saw it as an overdue opportunity to stabilize an increasingly fractious relationship. The last visit by a U.S. secretary of state was in 2017.
China is keen for a stable U.S. relationship so it can focus on its economy, battered by the now-abandoned zero-COVID policy and neglected by foreign investors alarmed by what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.
In recent months Chinese leader Xi has met with world leaders, seeking to re-establish ties and settle disagreements.
Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia under former President Barack Obama, said he did not see a strategic rationale for canceling the trip and stressed the importance of maintaining high-level engagement with China.
“In as much as the U.S. has much bigger fish to fry with the Chinese than a surveillance balloon, the Biden team may be inclined to pick up where they left off after a decent interval,” he said. Sino-U.S. relations have soured significantly in recent years, particularly following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, which prompted dramatic Chinese military drills near the self-ruled island.
LIMITED INTELLIGENCE VALUE
The Pentagon’s Ryder told reporters on Thursday the balloon was at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and did not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. One U.S. official added it was assessed to have “limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
Another official said on Thursday the flight path would carry the balloon over a number of sensitive sites, but did not give details. Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos.
Ryder declined on Friday to say where precisely the balloon was, but as he spoke, the National Weather Service in Kansas City said on Twitter it had received multiple reports across northwestern Missouri of a large balloon.
China has often complained about surveillance by the United States, including its deployment of ships or planes near Chinese military exercises.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register nowReporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk, Phil Stewart, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson and Simon Lewis in Washington; additional reporting by Tony Munroe, Ryan Woo and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Lion Schellerer in Singapore and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Don Durfee, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Idrees Ali
Thomson Reuters
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
Read Next
- United StatescategoryChinese spy balloon changes course, floating over central United States-Pentagon, article with video
- WorldcategoryChina balloon soaring over U.S. deflates hopes for diplomatic thaw, article with gallery
- United StatescategoryChina’s balloon over the U.S. seen as bold but clumsy espionage tactic, article with gallery
- ChinacategoryChina foreign ministry: ‘airship’ over the U.S. a ‘force majeure accident’, article with gallery
- United StatescategoryIn Texas, hunters shoot feral pigs from helicopters, article with gallery
Reuters Daily Briefing
All the news you need to start your day. (This includes the Reuters Weekend Briefing.) Sign up
More from Reuters
World
- Canada withdraws proposed measures banning certain rifles, shotguns, article with imageAmericascategory · February 3, 2023 · 2:23 PM CSTCanada has withdrawn proposed amendments to gun legislation that would have banned certain types of rifles and shotguns, the government said on Friday, after opponents alleged the prohibitions unfairly targeted farmers and hunters.
- EuropecategoryGibraltar accuses Spain of ‘gross violation of sovereignty’ over customs operation, article with image3:34 PM CST
- United StatescategoryBiden administration seeks to toughen school nutrition standards, article with image4:26 PM CST
- AmericascategoryPeru Congress shelves President Boluarte’s bill for early elections, article with gallery7:45 PM CST
- AmericascategoryHaitians seen crushing into migration centers seeking passports to U.S., article with gallery8:37 PM CST . Updated 28 min ago
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Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionalsReuters home
5 minute readFebruary 3, 20238:23 PM CSTLast Updated 42 min ago
Blinken postpones China trip over ‘unacceptable’ Chinese spy balloon
By Humeyra Pamuk, Idrees Ali and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States in what Washington called a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty.
Military leaders considered shooting down the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Wednesday but eventually recommended against this to President Joe Biden because of the safety risk from debris, officials said.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The Pentagon said on Friday that another Chinese balloon was observed over Latin America, without saying where exactly.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register now
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on Tuesday about the balloon flight over the United States and there was an administration “consensus that it was not appropriate to travel to the People’s Republic of China at this time.”
Latest Updates
- China balloon soaring over U.S. deflates hopes for diplomatic thaw
- U.S., allies say IAEA report shows Iran inconsistent in meeting nuclear obligations
- Around 70% of Haitians back international force to fight gangs, survey says
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China expressed regret that an “airship” used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had strayed into U.S. airspace.
Jean-Pierre said the U.S. administration was aware of China’s statement “but the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. It is unacceptable this occurred.”
On Friday, Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the balloon had changed course and was floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above the central United States and demonstrating a capability to maneuver. He said it would likely be over the country for a few more days.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Commercial forecaster AccuWeather said the balloon would potentially leave the United States and move over the Atlantic on Saturday evening. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News it would be good to recover the balloon “one way or another” to see “if it was designed to actually collect data or if it was designed to test our response capabilities.”
The Pentagon’s disclosure about the balloon’s maneuverability directly challenges China’s assertion about it being blown off course.
At a news conference with South Korea’s visiting foreign minister on Friday, Blinken said he had told Wang Yi, director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, that the incident on the eve of his trip was an “irresponsible act” by China, but Washington remained committed to engagement and he would visit when conditions allowed.
Blinken said he would not put a date on when he might go to China and the focus was on resolving the current incident. “The first step is … getting the surveillance asset out of our air space,” he said, adding that Washington would maintain open lines of communication with China.
The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said the balloon should never have been allowed in U.S. airspace and could have been shot down over water.
“I am calling on the Biden administration to quickly take steps to remove the Chinese spy balloon from U.S. airspace,” he said in a statement.
[1/3] A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Chase Doak/via REUTERS123
China’s foreign ministry said in statements on Saturday that the flight of the “airship” over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.
It said Wang had told Blinken during their phone call that both parties needed to communicate in a timely manner and avoid any misjudgments.
LOST OPPORTUNITY?
A White House official said the administration had briefed staff of the so-called Gang of 8, which brings together Republican and Democratic leaders from the Senate and House, on Thursday afternoon.
The official said such balloon surveillance activity had “been observed over the past several years, including in the prior administration – we have kept Congress briefed on this issue.”
The postponing of Blinken’s trip, which had been agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, is a blow to those who saw it as an overdue opportunity to stabilize an increasingly fractious relationship. The last visit by a U.S. secretary of state was in 2017.
China is keen for a stable U.S. relationship so it can focus on its economy, battered by the now-abandoned zero-COVID policy and neglected by foreign investors alarmed by what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.
In recent months Chinese leader Xi has met with world leaders, seeking to re-establish ties and settle disagreements.
Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia under former President Barack Obama, said he did not see a strategic rationale for canceling the trip and stressed the importance of maintaining high-level engagement with China.
“In as much as the U.S. has much bigger fish to fry with the Chinese than a surveillance balloon, the Biden team may be inclined to pick up where they left off after a decent interval,” he said. Sino-U.S. relations have soured significantly in recent years, particularly following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, which prompted dramatic Chinese military drills near the self-ruled island.
LIMITED INTELLIGENCE VALUE
The Pentagon’s Ryder told reporters on Thursday the balloon was at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and did not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. One U.S. official added it was assessed to have “limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
Another official said on Thursday the flight path would carry the balloon over a number of sensitive sites, but did not give details. Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos.
Ryder declined on Friday to say where precisely the balloon was, but as he spoke, the National Weather Service in Kansas City said on Twitter it had received multiple reports across northwestern Missouri of a large balloon.
China has often complained about surveillance by the United States, including its deployment of ships or planes near Chinese military exercises.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register nowReporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk, Phil Stewart, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson and Simon Lewis in Washington; additional reporting by Tony Munroe, Ryan Woo and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Lion Schellerer in Singapore and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Don Durfee, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Idrees Ali
Thomson Reuters
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
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5 minute readFebruary 3, 20238:23 PM CSTLast Updated 42 min ago
Blinken postpones China trip over ‘unacceptable’ Chinese spy balloon
By Humeyra Pamuk, Idrees Ali and Michael Martina
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States in what Washington called a “clear violation” of U.S. sovereignty.
Military leaders considered shooting down the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Wednesday but eventually recommended against this to President Joe Biden because of the safety risk from debris, officials said.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The Pentagon said on Friday that another Chinese balloon was observed over Latin America, without saying where exactly.
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“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden was briefed on Tuesday about the balloon flight over the United States and there was an administration “consensus that it was not appropriate to travel to the People’s Republic of China at this time.”
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China expressed regret that an “airship” used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had strayed into U.S. airspace.
Jean-Pierre said the U.S. administration was aware of China’s statement “but the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. It is unacceptable this occurred.”
On Friday, Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said the balloon had changed course and was floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above the central United States and demonstrating a capability to maneuver. He said it would likely be over the country for a few more days.Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Commercial forecaster AccuWeather said the balloon would potentially leave the United States and move over the Atlantic on Saturday evening. Mike Rounds, a Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News it would be good to recover the balloon “one way or another” to see “if it was designed to actually collect data or if it was designed to test our response capabilities.”
The Pentagon’s disclosure about the balloon’s maneuverability directly challenges China’s assertion about it being blown off course.
At a news conference with South Korea’s visiting foreign minister on Friday, Blinken said he had told Wang Yi, director of China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, that the incident on the eve of his trip was an “irresponsible act” by China, but Washington remained committed to engagement and he would visit when conditions allowed.
Blinken said he would not put a date on when he might go to China and the focus was on resolving the current incident. “The first step is … getting the surveillance asset out of our air space,” he said, adding that Washington would maintain open lines of communication with China.
The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, said the balloon should never have been allowed in U.S. airspace and could have been shot down over water.
“I am calling on the Biden administration to quickly take steps to remove the Chinese spy balloon from U.S. airspace,” he said in a statement.
[1/3] A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Chase Doak/via REUTERS123
China’s foreign ministry said in statements on Saturday that the flight of the “airship” over the United States was a force majeure accident, accusing U.S. politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit China.
It said Wang had told Blinken during their phone call that both parties needed to communicate in a timely manner and avoid any misjudgments.
LOST OPPORTUNITY?
A White House official said the administration had briefed staff of the so-called Gang of 8, which brings together Republican and Democratic leaders from the Senate and House, on Thursday afternoon.
The official said such balloon surveillance activity had “been observed over the past several years, including in the prior administration – we have kept Congress briefed on this issue.”
The postponing of Blinken’s trip, which had been agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, is a blow to those who saw it as an overdue opportunity to stabilize an increasingly fractious relationship. The last visit by a U.S. secretary of state was in 2017.
China is keen for a stable U.S. relationship so it can focus on its economy, battered by the now-abandoned zero-COVID policy and neglected by foreign investors alarmed by what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.
In recent months Chinese leader Xi has met with world leaders, seeking to re-establish ties and settle disagreements.
Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for Asia under former President Barack Obama, said he did not see a strategic rationale for canceling the trip and stressed the importance of maintaining high-level engagement with China.
“In as much as the U.S. has much bigger fish to fry with the Chinese than a surveillance balloon, the Biden team may be inclined to pick up where they left off after a decent interval,” he said. Sino-U.S. relations have soured significantly in recent years, particularly following then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August, which prompted dramatic Chinese military drills near the self-ruled island.
LIMITED INTELLIGENCE VALUE
The Pentagon’s Ryder told reporters on Thursday the balloon was at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and did not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. One U.S. official added it was assessed to have “limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective.”
Another official said on Thursday the flight path would carry the balloon over a number of sensitive sites, but did not give details. Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos.
Ryder declined on Friday to say where precisely the balloon was, but as he spoke, the National Weather Service in Kansas City said on Twitter it had received multiple reports across northwestern Missouri of a large balloon.
China has often complained about surveillance by the United States, including its deployment of ships or planes near Chinese military exercises.
Register for free to Reuters and know the full story
Register nowReporting by Steve Holland, Idrees Ali, Humeyra Pamuk, Phil Stewart, Michael Martina, David Brunnstrom, David Shepardson and Simon Lewis in Washington; additional reporting by Tony Munroe, Ryan Woo and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing, Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru, Greg Torode in Hong Kong, Lion Schellerer in Singapore and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Don Durfee, Jonathan Oatis, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.Idrees Ali
Thomson Reuters
National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.
Read Next
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- WorldcategoryChina balloon soaring over U.S. deflates hopes for diplomatic thaw, article with gallery
- United StatescategoryChina’s balloon over the U.S. seen as bold but clumsy espionage tactic, article with gallery
- ChinacategoryChina foreign ministry: ‘airship’ over the U.S. a ‘force majeure accident’, article with gallery
- United StatescategoryIn Texas, hunters shoot feral pigs from helicopters, article with gallery
Reuters Daily Briefing
All the news you need to start your day. (This includes the Reuters Weekend Briefing.) Sign up
More from Reuters
World
- Canada withdraws proposed measures banning certain rifles, shotguns, article with imageAmericascategory · February 3, 2023 · 2:23 PM CSTCanada has withdrawn proposed amendments to gun legislation that would have banned certain types of rifles and shotguns, the government said on Friday, after opponents alleged the prohibitions unfairly targeted farmers and hunters.
- EuropecategoryGibraltar accuses Spain of ‘gross violation of sovereignty’ over customs operation, article with image3:34 PM CST
- United StatescategoryBiden administration seeks to toughen school nutrition standards, article with image4:26 PM CST
- AmericascategoryPeru Congress shelves President Boluarte’s bill for early elections, article with gallery7:45 PM CST
- AmericascategoryHaitians seen crushing into migration centers seeking passports to U.S., article with gallery8:37 PM CST . Updated 28 min ago
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- Westlaw, opens new tabBuild the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.
- Onesource, opens new tabThe most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.
- Checkpoint, opens new tabThe industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.
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- Refinitiv Workspace, opens new tabAccess unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.
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