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U.S. authorities are monitoring a high-altitude balloon traversing the Western region of the nation, according to what U.S. officials have disclosed to CBS News. The balloon has been observed by military planes, which have assessed that it poses no threat. However, its origins and intentions remain a mystery, the officials reported.
Confidential sources requesting anonymity indicated that on Friday the balloon was carried eastward by the jetstream. An official earlier mentioned that the balloon had been located over Colorado. The balloon is not considered dangerous.
The first Chinese surveillance balloon was detected in early February 2023. The incident led to heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, raising concerns over sovereignty, surveillance, and international diplomacy.
WATCH:
The balloon was first publicly acknowledged by the U.S. Department of Defense on February 2, 2023, after it was spotted over Montana, a state that is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. U.S. officials described the balloon as being used for surveillance and stated that it was part of a larger pattern of Chinese espionage efforts.
The Chinese government initially responded by claiming that the balloon was a civilian airship used for meteorological research that had strayed off course due to winds and had limited self-steering capabilities.
The incident escalated when the U.S. decided to shoot down the balloon on February 4, 2023, over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina, after it had traversed over sensitive military sites across the continental United States. The U.S. military took measures to ensure the debris would fall into the ocean to minimize risks to people on the ground.
Following the shootdown, the U.S. and China engaged in a war of words, with the U.S. condemning the breach of its sovereignty and China criticizing the U.S. for overreacting and violating international norms. The incident led to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a planned trip to Beijing, which was aimed at easing tensions between the two countries.
This is a developing story…
