Why doesn’t the US shoot down the Chinese “spy” balloon? Pentagon responds

The Pentagon announced Friday that the Chinese “surveillance balloon” with a sizable number of payloads would continue to float over the United States for the upcoming few days. According to Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the press secretary for the Pentagon, said the maneuverable Chinese balloon was flying over the middle of the continental United States in an easterly direction at an altitude of about 60,000 feet as of Friday noon. He added that the Aerospace Defense is ‘closely’ watching the alleged spy balloon.

“The balloon is currently over the centre of the US continent as it moves further east. Once more, we believe that the balloon does not currently pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground, and we will continue to monitor and consider our options “said he.

The official continued, without going into further detail about the payload, “It has a large payload underneath the surveillance component, underneath the actual balloon piece of it.”

The discovery of a Chinese balloon over the US mainland heightened diplomatic tensions, leading US State Secretary Antony Blinken to postpone his trip to Beijing abruptly. This would have been a senior American diplomat’s first trip to China in several years.

Beijing acknowledged ownership of the balloon and stated that the airship was primarily used for meteorological research. The airship “deviated far from its planned course” due to the “Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability,” the Chinese foreign ministry claimed in a statement. The Chinese side “regrets the airship’s unintended entry into US airspace,” it continued.