There are a number of questions raised by Pentagon surveillance of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the continental United States, not the least of which is what exactly it might be doing.
For safety reasons, the Pentagon decided not to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon flying over the US.
It has been reported that the flight path of the balloon, first seen over Montana on Thursday, could take it over a number of sensitive sites. The US government is taking steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection.
However, it's less clear why Chinese spies would use a balloon instead of a satellite.
A Chinese balloon has been spotted over the US before, but this one is acting differently than previous ones, a defense official said.
“It is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time, this time around, [and is] more persistent than in previous instances. That would be one distinguishing factor,” the official said.
The balloon has been monitored since it entered US airspace at high altitude a couple of days ago. Crewed aircraft have tracked it several times, and it was most recently tracked crossing Montana, where nuclear missiles are stored.
A precautionary suspension of flights was implemented on Wednesday at Billings Logan airport.
Neither the Chinese government nor state-backed media has confirmed ownership of the balloon.
The Canadian national defence department confirmed that it had detected a high-altitude surveillance balloon after the Pentagon announced it had detected one. The balloon travelled over part of Canada on the way to Montana, US officials said.
Canada's defence authorities stressed that there was no threat to the public, adding: “Canada’s intelligence agencies are working with American partners and continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard Canada’s sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats.”
In a Pentagon statement, officials said they were "highly confident" the balloon was Chinese, and that Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation.
Human rights in China's western Xinjiang region and the clampdown against democracy activists in Hong Kong are among the issues causing tensions with China. Additionally, China has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine tacitly, has refused to rein in North Korea's expanding ballistic missile program, and has engaged in ongoing disputes over trade and technology.
It is unclear if the balloon was what Montana residents saw during the airport shutdown.
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