According to Fox News, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his trip to China indefinitely after a Chinese spy balloon was found hovering over Montana airspace; China says it’s a weather balloon.
From Fox News:
Blinken was to travel to Beijing this weekend to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war with Chinese officials and meet with President Xi, White House National Security Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said.
Top Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee demanded that Blinken confront Xi over the spy balloon during his trip, calling it an “unacceptable” violation of U.S. airspace and American sovereignty.
China released a statement on Friday, admitting the balloon was theirs.
“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.”
China said it “regrets” the incident.
This story is breaking…
More over at Fox News:
BREAKING NEWS: After Chinese balloon enters US airspace, Biden secretary of state postpones trip to Chinahttps://t.co/o7cWMEbSlt
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 3, 2023