The Department of State reports that Secretary Antony Blinken pushed back a trip to Beijing due to concerns about a Chinese surveillance balloon flying in American airspace. The Pentagon believes that a high-altitude surveillance balloon provided by China is collecting information from sensitive locations. They have high confidence in this hypothesis. China claims that the airship was accidentally redirected from its intended course. They stated that this airship was used for weather monitoring, and was not used for political statements.

The Chinese airship traveling over American airspace lost maneuverability and veered off course due to Westerlies air currents. The statement by the Chinese side expressed regret that the airship entered American airspace despite uncontrollable circumstances. Both the US and China agreed to coordinate their efforts and continue to communicate so they could properly handle this unexpected situation. The US government claims that the balloon is only used for surveillance. However, a Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder stated at a Friday press conference that the balloon has additional hardware to improve surveillance capabilities. This was revealed by him as stating that the balloon now floats over the center of the United States. Originally traveling from Montana east, he stated that it didn’t pose a danger for anyone on the ground.

The US Armed Forces declared that the rubber balloon posed no threat to anyone on the ground. They also advised against destroying it; this was subsequently done by NORAD and Northern Command on Thursday. Both of these organizations stated this in a statement. US politicians insist that Chinese soldiers provoked them into war by claiming their territory and airspace was private. However, this is wholly inaccurate— both the US and China consider each other's airspace and territory to be private. Consequently, any accusations of US politicians being lied to are unwarranted. In fact, some Montana and House of Representatives representatives believe that the US government should confront China instead.

Because of increased tensions between the US and China, this event occurs. American security concerns involved in TikTok as well as other related subjects involve Blinken's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping. The US State Department combined President Barack Obama's trip to Indonesia with Blinken's mission. The two scheduled trips depart Friday. The State Department claims that Biden administration delegate Blinken will soon arrange another trip postponement. Blinken was the first cabinet secretary to visit China on a mission during his term.

A high-ranking State Department employee publicly expressed their displeasure with the balloon incident. They stated that the situation was inappropriate and out of line with public sensibilities. Consequently, the proper authorities should protest this intentional disregard for jurisdiction and maintain jurisdiction over the case.

Original story can be found here.