China has released an official statement on the suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over Montana —they say it belongs to them but claim it’s mainly for weather research.
“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Friday. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course.”
The spokesperson said China regrets the incident.
The statement continued, “The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”
From The New York Post:
It has for the last two days been flying over sensitive sites, including Montana, home to one of the US’ three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
As China called for calm, Canada’s defense ministry said it was monitoring a “potential second incident.”
“A high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected and its movements are being actively tracked by” the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the department said.
“Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident,” it said, without detailing the exact location.
“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.
“We remain in frequent contact with our American allies as the situation develops,” the department stressed.
This story is developing…
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