IRIA News

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was all set to visit China on an anticipated trip this week, however, he pulled out in the eleventh hour after the Pentagon discovered an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over sensitive sites in the continental U.S.

The top US diplomat had been expected to meet China’s president Xi Jinping. He would have been the first Biden administration cabinet secretary to visit China and the first secretary of state to travel to the country in more than five years.

A high-altitude weather balloon as big as three school buses was first spotted flying over the U.S. state of Montana, on February 1, 2023. According to Pentagon, the balloon entered U.S. airspace earlier this week, however, it only became a threat after it started to fly above a military base in Montana that houses nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The balloon had been flying at least 60,000 feet high in the air. Due to its large size, U.S. President Joe Biden had declined to shoot down the balloon, following the advice of defense officials who were worried that the debris could injure people on the ground.

It was not until the balloon reached the coast of South Carolina that it was shot down. A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor jet was used to carry out the operation with an AIM-9 air-to-air missile. The balloon fell into the U.S. territorial waters of the Atlantic Ocean. US Navy divers are currently working to recover the wreckage of the in order to confirm their claims about the balloon being a spying device sent by China.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon as it was discovered, later it denied that the balloon was used for spying and insisted it was a weather ship blown astray by the high winds. From the position where it was sighted in Montana on 1 February, experts have estimated a possible back trajectory for the balloon, based on wind data, originating in central China. The wind patterns in the north Pacific in the past few days would have blown the balloon northwest to Alaska and then southwest through Canada to Montana.

U.S. Secretary of States calls off his trip to China

Speaking at the state department after canceling his trip on February 4, 2023, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the presence of the Chinese balloon was an “irresponsible act” and a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law”. He added that “the People’s Republic of China’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

Blinken spoke to China’s top foreign policy official Wang Yi to inform him that he was canceling his trip. He also raised concerns about the balloon. After Blinken confirmed the cancellation of his trip, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the balloon’s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. to not “smear” it based on the balloon.

During his call with the U.S. Secretary of State, Wang Yi said that China “has always strictly followed international law, we do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments, and manage differences.”

China’s foreign ministry also expressed a “strong dissatisfaction and protest against the U.S.’s use of force to attack civilian unmanned aircraft”. In a written statement, the Chinese government said it would “resolutely safeguard” the rights and interests of the company operating the balloon and that it reserved the right to “make further responses if necessary.”

U.S. military officials have claimed that a second Chinese spy balloon had been spotted over Latin America. Colombia’s Air Force said an identified object believed to be a balloon was detected on February 3, 2023, in the country’s airspace at above 55000 feet. China did not comment publicly on the second balloon so far.