China expresses surprise as ‘spy balloon’ floating over Montana casts shadow on impending Blinken Beijing visit

HASTILY CALLED BRIEFING: Word went out to Pentagon reporters just before 4:30 p.m. yesterday that a senior defense official would be briefing on a “national security issue” in less than an hour. The urgent Zoom briefing was to reveal that NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, was tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon, believed to be Chinese, drifting over the northwestern United States for the past few days.

“China is a responsible country that always abides by international law and has no intention of infringing on any country’s territory and airspace,” Mao said. “As for the balloon … we are looking into and verifying the situation and hope that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully.”

“Every time we engage at a high level with the PRC, it’s really about one thing and one thing only, and that’s responsible management of what is, we think, the most consequential, complex bilateral relationship on the planet,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price. “What we seek to do is to have these conversations, to see to it that competition doesn’t veer into conflict, to see to it that there are guardrails on that relationship.

The meeting comes as details are expected to be released soon on a plan for the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia to build a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian navy. The submarines are being produced as a counterweight to China’s growing military, under the AUKUS security agreement the three nations signed in 2021.

“The long-range hybrid weapon combines two proven devices: an Air Force Small-Diameter Bomb guided by GPS satellites that’s currently in wide use and an Army rocket already being operated by Ukraine’s forces,” reported Bloomberg’s Tony Capaccio. “Like some other equipment provided by the US and allies, it won’t be deployed in Ukraine anytime soon: An industry official said it would take about nine months for the first deliveries once the Air Force issues a contract.

“If he so chooses, Russian President Vladimir Putin could leverage Rosatom’s influence over the nuclear supply chain to inflict pain now or in the future on Western countries that support Ukraine,” Stricker and Ruggiero wrote, proposing the Biden administration announce sanctions against Rosatom and its subsidiaries.

The SIGAR report quoted United Nations statistics that some 28 million Afghans, roughly two-thirds of the country, are dependent on international food assistance. “Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, the United States has appropriated or otherwise made available over $8 billion in assistance to Afghan citizens and refugees,” the report said. “This includes more than $2 billion, primarily for humanitarian and development aid in Afghanistan, and over $3.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

China speaks out about Montana spy balloonThe Chinese foreign ministry said it is 'assessing the situation' and that 'both sides are calm and cautious.' Of course nothing to see here but weak America and weaker President, we got this America will soon be ours we got 2 years before Trump is back. no assessment needed until you get caught as a minimum a balloon in airspace can crash a jetliner killing hundreds of human beings it's so irresponsible it's horrible to think about. USA and Canada now have to worry about this a terrorist attack can do the same with balloons So is the US allowed to send a spy balloon over China?...
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »

China Says It’s Checking Whether It Sent Spy Balloon to MontanaThe country’s foreign ministry said it has no intention of ‘violating the land territory or airspace of any sovereign country.’ The DoD's position on this is that it's not a danger and that its surveillance capability is no better than an orbital satellite. So, they are tracking it but are not worried about it. What?! “They’re checking?” It’s “checking”?!?
Source: Gizmodo - 🏆 556. / 51 Read more »

Blinken Trip to China Postponed After Spy Balloon Spotted Over U.S.The State Department has indefinitely postponed Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing after what U.S. officials identified as a Chinese reconnaissance balloon was detected loitering above the continental U.S., a U.S. official said. And Biden is calling the UN asking them what to do… we know. This admin is so weak. Smart move!
Source: WSJ - 🏆 98. / 63 Read more »

Chinese Spy Balloon Is Not a Spy Balloon, China SaysChina’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said the suspected spy balloon spotted over the U.S. was actually just civilian “airship” used mostly for meteorological research. Yeah right, and we are going to believe them...... Remember back in the days when they said the same things about Aliens lol ! Nice try, Find a better one because this one is Old.
Source: thedailybeast - 🏆 307. / 63 Read more »

Montana Sen. Daines 'alarmed' at Chinese spy balloon, says 'significant concern' that ICBM fields targetedMontana GOP Senator Steve Daines sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin regarding the suspected Chinese spy balloon floating over his state and other northern states. The problem is, Biden has ZERO interest in protecting America & our great Americans. He doesn't care! I honestly believe this. He truly needs to be impeached AND removed. This is scary!!! Even the USSR knew how to deal it the problem.
Source: FoxNews - 🏆 9. / 87 Read more »