The US Department of Defense (Pentagon) reported on Friday that the Chinese “spy balloon” continues to fly over the US and is moving in an easterly direction after being sighted over the state of Montana on Thursday.
Pentagon spokesman General Pat Ryder explained that the balloon is 1,828 meters above the surface and is flying over the central region of the United States of America (US).
“The Balloon Changed Orbit”Ryder added, without wanting to go into detail about its exact location, noting that it will “probably” fly over the country for “a few more days”.
The Pentagon spokesman explained that the airship is “maneuverable” and that it has a large cargo hold under its surveillance apparatus, the contents of which he did not specify.
While the US military has concluded that the balloon poses no threat at this time, Pat Ryder stressed that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is “closely monitoring” its movements.
“Military commanders have determined that there is no physical or military threat to people on the surface”the general noted, which is why the authorities decided not to destroy the device.
Ryder insisted it was a “surveillance” device and not, as China put it, a “civilian device used for meteorological research purposes”.
On Thursday, the US confirmed that the plane was flying over the state of Montana, in the northwestern US, where one of the three fields of nuclear missile silos is located at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
The other two nuclear missile silo fields are located in two states bordering Montana: North Dakota to the east and Wyoming to the south.
In response to this case, the US has postponed a visit to China by its chief of diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
Blinken would visit Beijing on Sunday and Monday and had a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the agenda, the British newspaper Financial Times reported on Friday.
Source: DN
