Spy balloon – live: Biden to address US on shot-down Chinese balloon and three other aerial ‘objects’

President Joe Biden is expected to deliver his most in-depth public remarks as early as Thursday on the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that entered US airspace.

The US president will reportedly use his address to explain how his administration is addressing unmanned, unidentified aircraft after the balloon and three other objects were shot down by American fighter jets this month.

US agencies reportedly tracked the balloon for several days after it launched from China’s Hainan province, though intelligence officials are considering the possibility that strong air currents may have inadvertently pulled the balloon off its planned course to send it over mainland America, while diplomats from both countries scrambled to respond to the surprise intrusion.

At least three objects were shot down by American fighter jets in recent days which were likely used for commercial or other “benign” purposes, White House officials reported.

Chinese authorities, meanwhile, have continued to deny that the balloon was used for intelligence gathering and suggested China could take “countermeasures”.

Key points

• Joe Biden to deliver national address on downing of aerial 'objects'

• Balloon may have mistakenly – at least partially – entered American heartland

• China suggests taking ‘countermeasures’ against US

• White House says three unidentified objects believed to be ‘benign’

• US military says it has recovered ‘significant’ electronics from downed Chinese ‘spy’ balloon

Joe Biden to deliver national address on downing of aerial 'objects'

04:14 , Shweta Sharma

Joe Biden is expected to address the shooting down of suspected Chinese surveillance balloons that entered US airspace in his most extensive public remarks yet, three people familiar with the matter said.

Biden will deliver his remarks early today but the exact timing of his address has not been settled yet, NBC reported.

Mr Biden is scheduled to take a physical exam today which is expected to last several hours.

The president, it is understood, will use his address to explain how his administration will tackle the issue of aerial balloons and other objects spotted in the future.

His speech is expected to answer swirling questions over the shooting down of aerial objects by the US military as federal investigators salvage and analyse the wreckage.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken explains why he cancelled his trip to China

14:00 , Alex Woodward

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he intended to keep lines of communication open with Beijing to reflect the Biden administration’s push for “diplomacy and engagement” with China, but the surveillance balloon sighting did not create the “right conditions” for his trip to China that was abruptly canceled.

“We’re committed to responsibly managing the competition between the United States and China, and we look to Beijing to do the same,” he told NPR.

The ballon incident was an “irresponsible act and a violation of our sovereignty and international law,” he added.

“But it doesn’t take away from the fact that we are committed to finding ways to responsibly manage it. We believe that diplomacy and engagement are important,” Mr Blinken said. “In fact, this only underscores the importance of having lines of communication. That was in part the purpose of the trip I had intended to take, but in the context of the surveillance balloon, those weren’t the right conditions to go forward with the trip.”

The trip was canceled as administration officials weighed their response to the balloon sighting. It was ultimately shot down over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of South Carolina on 4 February.

The White House has said the trip was not canceled but postponed and stressed that the incident has not stopped diplomats from both countries from keeping up talks and open lines of communcations.

“We still have an embassy there,” the National Security Council’s John Kirby said on Tuesday. “We still have an ability through Secretary Blinken’s good offices to communicate with senior Chinese leaders.”

Top US and China officials could meet face to face in Munich

13:00 , Alex Woodward

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is reportedly considering a meeting with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference starting this week, marking what would be the first face-to-face talks between the nations after the US shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon on 4 February.

Sources told Reuters that a meeting was possible at some point during the conference, though nothing has been confirmed.

If they don’t meet there, Mr Blinken also could meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the G-20 Foreign Ministers meeting in India next month, where both officials are scheduled to attend.

Vice President Harris also is attending the Munich conference, potentially setting up another chance for in-person encounters between American and Chinese officials after the balloon incident.

US officials including Ms Harris have insisted that the incident has not changed the nation’s relationship with China, though Chinese authorities have repeatedly accused the US of violating international accords and have threatened “countermeasures” after alleging American surveillance balloons were deployed in their own airspace. The White House has denied the allegation.

Defense secretary Lloyd Austin, however, unsuccessfully tried calling his Chinese counterpart in the balloon aftermath. China had refused the call.

Biden could deliver remarks this week on shot-down objects, report says

12:00 , Alex Woodward

President Joe Biden could deliver remarks this week addressing the Chinese surveillance balloon and three other objects recently shot down by fighter jets in North American airspace.

CNN reports that administration officials are “actively weighing” a potential address, noting that officials have been wary of the president giving public remarks until more information was uncovered.

Members of Congress over the weekend were calling on the administration to provide them with more information on the three latest objects after receiving closed-door briefings on the surveillance craft. Senators were briefed in classified hearings on Tuesday, and Republican Senators later demanded that the president address the public on the issue.

“The American people deserve to hear more from the president on all of these issues,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.

Did China launch the other objects shot down by American fighter jets?

11:00 , Alex Woodward

A massive surveillance balloon that drifted across the US before it was shot down by an American fighter jet is believed to be part of a Chinese military fleet of similar intelligence-gathering aircrafts.

But military and White House officials say there is no indication that three smaller unidentified “objects” that were shot down above North American airspace in as many days are part of the same program, and may not have come from China at all.

They could be “sky trash” or “benign” weather balloons or any number of other objects, as the US military expands its radar capabilities in the balloon’s aftermath to filter in aerial objects that they would’ve otherwise missed.

Did China launch the other objects shot down by American fighter jets?

New details emerge about China and US diplomatic attempts to resolve balloon chaos before its destruction

10:00 , Alex Woodward

Emerging details about the decisions made among US and Chinese officials as a balloon made its way across America reveal some confusion and critical misreadings among the world powers that boiled over into partisan battles and media frenzy.

US officials told The New York Times hat a self-destruct function did not operate when the Chinese surveillance balloon entered North American airspace over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, though it is unclear whether the operators refused to detonate the device or if it failed.

Officials also told the newspaper that they believe that China then may have been reluctant to detonate the balloon once it was over the mainland, fearing political fallout if the debris had caused any damage below.

It also is unclear whether operators misread wind currents that carried the balloon in and out of American airspace or allowed it to drift to see what it could collect, The Times reported, echoing similar findings from intelligence officials who spoke with The Washington Post.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and deputy secretary Wendy Sherman reportedly issued a formal notice to a senior Chinese diplomat at about 6.30 pm ET on 1 February, telling him that his government must do something about the balloon.

More than 24 hours later, Chinese foreign ministry officials in Beijing spoke privately to diplomats in the US Embassy to tell them the balloon was a harmless civilian machine that had gone off course, according to the newspaper.

Early on 4 February, Chinese officials told their US counterparts that operators were trying to speed it out of the country, but by then the Biden administration was planning to shoot it out of the sky once it reached the coast of South Carolina.

Chinese spy balloon may have drifted into American mainland by mistake

State Department: China’s allegations that US deployed balloons are ‘misinformation’

09:00 , Alex Woodward

Asked to respond to China’s threats of “countermeasures” in the wake of the balloon incident and China’s accusations that the US has deployed spy balloons of its own over the nation, State Department spokesperson Ned Price defended a decision to shoot down the balloon and rejected allegations that the US launched a similar surveillance program.

“The United States is always going to take responsible, prudent and appropriate actions,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s precisely what this government did in response to the PRC violating our sovereignty [and] violating international law by sending a high-altitude surveillance balloon deep into the heartland of the United States.”

Chinese authorities have claimed that the US sent surveillance balloons over China 10 times since May 2022, which the White House and US officials have denied.

“This is not the type of program that the United States is conducting over China,” Mr Price said. “The PRC’s attempts to accuse [the US] of doing the same, it is just more misinformation, disinformation. It is just not true.”

State Department: US ‘acutely aware’ of China’s ‘challenges’ but relationship has not strained in balloon aftermath

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Asked about TikTok and the aftermath of the spy balloon, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US is “acutely aware” of “challenges” that China presents to the US, pointing to incidents of “espionage” and the “misuse of private or confidential information”.

The US is “determined to do everything we can to counter it,” stressing the importance of maintaining “open lines of communication” between Washington and Beijing.

He also echoed other US officials who are adamant that the balloon incident has not fractured the relationship between the two nations.

“America’s relationship today is where it has been some time,” he told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday, adding that the US relationship with China is “the most complex and consequential we have on the face of the earth.”

“The same could be true of any number of countries around the world in their own bilateral relationship with China,” he said. “We are clear eyed to these areas of competition, and it is competition that we think dominates this relationship.”

The administration has sought to establish “guardrails” to prevent that competition from veering into conflict, he said.

“As two leading powers in the world, there are challenges the world simply cannot address unless the United States and China cooperate together,” he said, pointing to efforts to address the climate crisis as a “prime example” of that necessary cooperation

Britain must ‘wake up’ to China security challenges, ex-MI6 head says

07:00 , Alex Woodward

Britain must “wake up” to the challenges China presents to global security, a former head of MI6 has said, as questions have been raised over the UK’s ability to respond to threats in the wake of China’s suspected surveillance balloon entering the US mainland.

Alex Younger, who led Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service from 2014 to 2020, said that “trust is plummeting to zero” between Washington and Beijing.

Britain must ‘wake up’ to China security challenges, ex-MI6 head says

China has flown dozens of military balloons into Taiwan’s airspace, report says

05:00 , Alex Woodward

China has reportedly flown dozens of military “spy” balloons in Taiwanese airspace over many years, said a new report citing top officials, with the latest incursion alleged to have occurred just a few weeks ago.

China has flown dozens of military balloons into Taiwan’s airspace, report says

ICYMI: First F-16 missile strike at flying object over Lake Huron missed its target

03:00 , Alex Woodward

US officials confirmed on 14 February that the object above Lake Huron – the third spotted above North American airspace in as many days – was taken down with a second shot when it appeared above the lake on 12 February. The first shot landed in the waters straddling the state of Michigan and the Ontario province of Canada.

First F-16 missile at flying object over Lake Huron missed, US officials confirm

China mocks America’s balloon obsession while seemingly ignoring Ohio

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying mocked America’s scrutiny into the suspected surveillance balloon, accusing the nation of ignoring the threats posed by the train derailment in Ohio that has sparked widespread contamination fears, with Hua Chunying comparing it to the disaster at Chernobyl.

“Apparently some in the US take a wandering civilian balloon as a big threat while the explosive train derailment and toxic chemical leak Not. #OhioChernobyl,” she wrote on Twitter.

The Independent is covering the Ohio disaster here:

East Palestine scraps town hall as chemicals suspected of causing illness – live

New details emerge about China and US diplomatic attempts to resolve balloon chaos before its destruction

00:00 , Alex Woodward

Emerging details about the decisions made among US and Chinese officials as a balloon made its way across America reveal some confusion and critical misreadings among the world powers that boiled over into partisan battles and media frenzy.

US officials reportedly told The New York Timesthat a self-destruct function did not operate when the Chinese surveillance balloon entered North American airspace over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, though it is unclear whether the operators refused to detonate the device or if it failed.

Officials also told the newspaper that they believe that China then may have been reluctant to detonate the balloon once it was over the mainland, fearing political fallout if the debris had caused any damage below.

It also is unclear whether operators misread wind currents that carried the balloon in and out of American airspace or allowed it to drift to see what it could collect, The Times reported, echoing similar findings from intelligence officials who spoke with The Washington Post.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and deputy secretary Wendy Sherman reportedly issued a formal notice to a senior Chinese diplomat at about 6.30 pm ET on 1 February, telling him that his government must do something about the balloon.

More than 24 hours later, Chinese foreign ministry officials in Beijing spoke privately to diplomats in the US Embassy to tell them the balloon was a harmless civilian machine that had gone off course, according to the newspaper.

Early on 4 February, Chinese officials told their US counterparts that operators were trying to speed it out of the country, but by then the Biden administration was planning to shoot it out of the sky once it reached the coast of South Carolina.

Chinese spy balloon may have drifted into American mainland by mistake

Here is everything we know about the objects shot down by American fighterjets

Wednesday 15 February 2023 23:00 , Alex Woodward

Four objects were shot down by US Air Force fighter jets within eight days across North America.

After an F-22 struck down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon on 4 February, US military discovered three other objects in North American airspace within as many days.

What are they, why are we suddenly seeing them, and why did the US shoot them down?

Here’s what we know:

Everything we know about the ‘objects’ shot down by US warplanes

Did China launch the other objects shot down by American fighter jets?

Wednesday 15 February 2023 22:30 , Alex Woodward

They could be “sky trash” or “benign” weather balloons or any number of other objects, and may or may not have come from China.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on 13 February that the US has not yet seen “any indication” that three objects shot down US fighter jets were part of China’s spy balloon program or any other intelligence-collecting efforts.

While the White House and members of Congress stay mum on what they’ve heard in classified briefings, speculation and conspiracy theories are thriving.

The US military, meanwhile, has widened its range of radar data as it monitors North American airspace for objects that might have otherwise been filtered out, with officials comparing their expanded radar search to search filters a prospective car buyer would use to broaden the parameters to find what they’re looking for.

That means objects that have been in US airspace for some time could now literally be on the nation’s radar, revealing information that otherwise would have been filtered out as clutter in the past.

Did China launch the other objects shot down by American fighter jets?

State Department: US ‘acutely aware’ of China’s ‘challenges’ but relationship has not strained in balloon aftermath

Wednesday 15 February 2023 22:00 , Alex Woodward

Asked about TikTok and the aftermath of the spy balloon, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US is “acutely aware” of “challenges” that China presents to the US, pointing to incidents of “espionage” and the “misuse of private or confidential information”.

The US is “determined to do everything we can to counter it,” stressing the importance of maintaining “open lines of communication” between Washington and Beijing.

He also echoed other US officials who are adamant that the balloon incident has not fractured the relationship between the two nations.

“America’s relationship today is where it has been some time,” he told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday, adding that the US relationship with China is “the most complex and consequential we have on the face of the earth.”

“The same could be true of any number of countries around the world in their own bilateral relationship with China,” he said. “We are clear eyed to these areas of competition, and it is competition that we think dominates this relationship.”

The administration has sought to establish “guardrails” to prevent that competition from veering into conflict, he said.

“As two leading powers in the world, there are challenges the world simply cannot address unless the United States and China cooperate together,” he said, pointing to efforts to address the climate crisis as a “prime example” of that necessary cooperation.

State Department: China’s allegations that US deployed balloons are ‘misinformation'

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:30 , Alex Woodward

Asked to respond to China’s threats of “countermeasures” in the wake of the balloon incident and China’s accusations that the US has deployed spy balloons of its own over the nation, State Department spokesperson Ned Price defended a decision to shoot down the balloon and rejected allegations that the US launched a similar surveillance program.

“The United States is always going to take responsible, prudent and appropriate actions,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s precisely what this government did in response to the PRC violating our sovereignty [and] violating international law by sending a high-altitude surveillance balloon deep into the heartland of the United States.”

Chinese authorities have claimed that the US sent surveillance balloons over China 10 times since May 2022, which the White House and US officials have denied.

“This is not the type of program that the United States is conducting over China,” Mr Price said. “The PRC’s attempts to accuse [the US] of doing the same, it is just more misinformation, disinformation. It is just not true.”

Why some people believe aliens are visiting us right now

Wednesday 15 February 2023 21:00 , Alex Woodward

In the decades after the Roswell incdient, the world has seen a growing interest in UFOs, and where they might have come from. And sceptics have long argued that rather than being any new technology – either of this Earth or another planet entirely – many of those sightings might indeed be weather balloons.

It is fitting, then, that the latest excitement has been prompted by what appear to be observation balloons of some kind, though that is still unconfirmed. And that official secrecy, too, is in keeping with the mystery that has surrounded those objects ever since that material fell to Earth in the New Mexico desert.

The Independent’s Andrew Griffin reports:

UFOs, UAPs and ETs: Why some people believe aliens are visiting us right now

ICYMI: Marjorie Taylor Greene draws wild comparison between Chinese spy balloon and 9/11

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:30 , Alex Woodward

US military officials contend that it was safer for American fighter jets to shoot down the massive balloon once it crossed into accessible waters rather than shoot it out of the sky while it was potentially a risk to people and buildings below.

But during an event in Idaho over the weekend, far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called the reasoning from the Pentagon “pathetic, absolutely pathetic” and “a bunch of bull****”.

She compared the size of the balloon, which was roughly the size of three buses, to a plane – specifically, the United Airlines jetliner, one of four aircraft hijacked on 9/11. Passengers prevented hijackers from reaching their target in Washington DC by downing the craft in a field, killing all on board.

Marjorie Taylor Greene draws wild comparison between Chinese spy balloon and 9/11

Satellite images reportedly show China’s ‘launch’ facility

Wednesday 15 February 2023 20:00 , Alex Woodward

US intelligence officials believe China’s surveillance balloon launched from its southern province of Hainan, the nation’s largest and most populous island, known as the “Hawaii of China” for its sandy beaches and resorts.

Researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies identified the facility in satellite imagery captured by space imaging firm Planet Labs, according to Rolling Stone.

”We believe this is the best launch site candidate on the island, especially as it has previously hosted aerostats,” Sam Lair, a Middlebury Institute of International Studies researcher, told Rolling Stone.

The facility is surrounded by security fence and “three large radomes” to house radar antennas, according to Lair. Images also appear to show a 140-meter launch pad and other launch equipment, he said.

Japan ‘strongly presumes’ Chinese balloons have entered airspace

Wednesday 15 February 2023 19:45 , Alex Woodward

Japan’s defence ministry has reported that after an “analysis of specific balloon-shaped flying objects previously identified in Japanese airspace, including those in November 2019, June 2020 and September 2021, we have concluded that the balloons are strongly presumed to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons flown by China.”

The statement said that it had “strongly demanded China’s government confirm the facts” of the incident and “that such a situation not occur again in the future”.

“Violations of airspace by foreign unmanned reconnaissance balloons and other means are totally unacceptable,” the statement added.

Now Japan says objects over its airspace could be Chinese spy balloons

Biden could deliver remarks this week on shot-down objects, report says

Wednesday 15 February 2023 19:30 , Alex Woodward

President Joe Biden could deliver remarks this week addressing the Chinese surveillance balloon and three other objects recently shot down by fighter jets in North American airspace.

CNN reports that administration officials are “actively weighing” a potential address, noting that officials have been wary of the president giving public remarks until more information was uncovered.

Members of Congress over the weekend were calling on the administration to provide them with more information on the three latest objects after receiving closed-door briefings on the surveillance craft. Senators were briefed in classified hearings on Tuesday, and Republican Senators later demanded that the president address the public on the issue.

“The American people deserve to hear more from the president on all of these issues,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.

Washington’s UFO lobbyist isn’t buying White House denial on extraterrestrials

Wednesday 15 February 2023 19:00 , Alex Woodward

Stephen Bassett has spent years lobbying Washington DC to take UFOs more seriously as the only registered lobbyist demanding that the federal government acknowledge “an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race,” according to his filing.

After the White House playfully dismissed speculation that aliens had anything to do with recently shot-down objects above North American airspace, he isn’t so sure.

“They’re not saying there is not an extraterrestrial connection,” he told the Washingtonian magazine.

“They’re saying there’s no indication yet. So it’s not a false statement, but it does not rule out extraterrestrials at all. So they’re playing this carefully. I get that,” he added.

He called White House statements suggesting that debris might not be recovered “utterly ludicrous”: “We recovered the Titanic. We’ve recovered submarines. So the idea that this debris may never be recovered is, of course, utterly ludicrous.”

“When I hear things like, ‘We don’t think we can recover the records,’ that gets my attention,” he added. “So this thing is still unknown. It’s unprecedented. It’s exciting. And as long as it advances and increases the intensity and the pressure to get the hearings we’ve been waiting for – the real hearings, the witness hearings –then it’s wonderful.”

Former NORAD director believes balloon and shot-down object are evidence of ‘our adversaries at work’

Wednesday 15 February 2023 18:30 , Alex Woodward

Scott Clancy, a retired major general and the former director of operations for NORAD, told CBC Radio that the Chinese surveillance balloon and three objects recently shot down over North American airspace in as many says are likely signs of “our adversaries at work.”

“There’s something going on here,” he said. “I don’t have any proof behind it, and we’ll wait and see, but it is my estimation that this is the intelligence gathering activities of our adversaries at work.”

He believes that the recent sightings are due to both military agencies taking a closer look at airspace and the frequency of objects being deployed.

“Part of that is that you can detect more. Therefore, you’re going to be in a position to take action more. And, therefore, you do,” he said. “I also think that this is pointing to a concerted and co-ordinated effort by one or some of our adversaries to garner intelligence information over our critical infrastructure, our ability and capacity to respond, and perhaps the political will from Canada and the United States to do something about it.”

Search interest in UFOs and extraterrestrial life has exploded with the latest aerial objects and White House comments

Wednesday 15 February 2023 18:15 , Alex Woodward

Google search interest in “what is in the sky” reached an all-time high in the US this week, and Americans asking if “aliens are real” more than tripled within the past day, after the White House rejected claims that extraterrestrial life forms are responsible for a series of unidentified objects shot down by American fighter jets.

The administration’s own discussion of the topic appeared to inflame social media speculation and fuel conspiracy theories, as officials and experts contend that there is no evidence to support the idea that the objects came from China or another planet. Intelligence officials and analysts have said that the objects are likely to be another kind of aircraft caught up in a broadening radar scope after the Chinese surveillance balloon incident.

But search interest in the US for “extraterrestrial life” is eight times greater than that of “surveillance” over the past day. The most-asked questions are related to shooting down UFOS, how many there are, what aliens are, and what UFO means.

(Unidentified flying object, by the way.)

Top US and China official could meet face to face in Munich

Wednesday 15 February 2023 17:45 , Alex Woodward

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is considering a meeting with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference starting this week, marking what would be the first face-to-face talks between the nations after the US shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon on 4 February.

Sources told Reuters that a meeting was possible at some point during the conference, though nothing has been confirmed.

If they don’t meet there, Mr Blinken also could meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the G-20 Foreign Ministers meeting in India next month, where both officials are scheduled to attend.

Vice President Harris also is attending the Munich conference, potentially setting up the first in-person encounters between American and Chinese officials after the balloon incident.

US officials including Ms Harris have insisted that the incident has not changed the nation’s relationship with China, though Chinese authorities have repeatedly accused the US of violating international accords and have threatened “countermeasures” after alleging American surveillance balloons were deployed in their own airspace. The White House has denied the allegation.

Defense secretary Lloyd Austin also tried calling his Chinese counterpart in the balloon aftermath, but he refused.

Balloon incident has not impacted US-China relationship, Kamala Harris says

Wednesday 15 February 2023 17:20 , Alex Woodward

Days before White House officials are expected to see top Chinese diplomats for the first time since the US shot down the surveillance balloon, Vice President Kamala Harris says that the incident has not damaged the nation’s relationship with China.

“I don’t think so, no,” she told Politico on Tuesday.

Her remarks come before her departure for Germany, where she will lead a US delegation at the Munich Security Conference, where Chinese officials are expected in attendance.

“We seek competition, but not conflict or confrontation,” she said when asked about the Biden administration’s approach to Beijing. “Everything that has happened in the last week and a half is, we believe, very consistent with our stated approach.”

Ms Harris also is expected to address the conference on Saturday.

Blinken explains why he cancelled his trip to China

Wednesday 15 February 2023 17:00 , Alex Woodward

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he intended to keep lines of communication open with Beijing to reflect the Biden administration’s push for “diplomacy and engagement” with China, but the surveillance balloon sighting did not create the “right conditions” for his trip to China that was abruptly canceled.

“We’re committed to responsibly managing the competition between the United States and China, and we look to Beijing to do the same,” he told NPR.

The balloon incident was an “irresponsible act and a violation of our sovereignty and international law,” he added.

“But it doesn’t take away from the fact that we are committed to finding ways to responsibly manage it. We believe that diplomacy and engagement are important,” Mr Blinken said. “In fact, this only underscores the importance of having lines of communication. That was in part the purpose of the trip I had intended to take, but in the context of the surveillance balloon, those weren’t the right conditions to go forward with the trip.”

The trip was canceled as administration officials weighed their response to the balloon sighting. It was ultimately shot down over the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of South Carolina on 4 February.

The White House has said the trip was not canceled but postponed and stressed that the incident has not stopped diplomats from both countries from keeping up talks and open lines of communcations.

“We still have an embassy there,” the National Security Council’s John Kirby said on Tuesday. “We still have an ability through Secretary Blinken’s good offices to communicate with senior Chinese leaders.”

Hours after the balloon was shot down, however, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s Chinese counterpart refused his call.

Full story: Chinese spy balloon may have drifted into American mainland airspace by mistake, officials reveal

Wednesday 15 February 2023 16:45 , Alex Woodward

A Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by an American fighter jet may have drifted into the mainland’s airspace at least partially by mistake, officials have revealed.

For one week before it was shot down on the other side of the country, monitors reportedly watched the balloon settle on a flight path that appeared to have sent it towards the US territory of Guam, thousands of miles from Alaska and far from previous Chinese surveillance efforts near military installations in Guam and Hawaii, officials told The Washington Post.

Military officials and the White House are studying whether that apparent sudden turn was intentional.

The paper reported that the balloon’s surprise drift across the US reportedly sparked confusion among Chinese agencies and diplomats, who scrambled to assemble a cover story to describe the aircraft as a civilian weather balloon that had drifted off course. US analysts are apparently examining the possibility that China didn’t intend to enter the US mainland at all, The Post reported.

Chinese spy balloon may have drifted into American mainland by mistake

Biden administration to brief John Bolton on Trump-era balloon incidents

Wednesday 15 February 2023 16:18 , Alex Woodward

Biden administration officials will brief Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton this afternoon on Chinese surveillance balloons that flew into US airspace during the former president’s time in the White House.

Mr Bolton told Politico that he intends to “ask for all the details, top to bottom.”

He said the hearing is scheduled at Liberty Crossing Intelligence Campus in Virginia but he did not disclose who is leading the briefing.

“I want to know whether overflights during the Trump administration were detected or not detected. If they were detected, what were they assessed to be, and who made that assessment? How far up the chain of command did the information and assessments go?” he told Politico.

Following the balloon incident, White House and military officials have revealed that similar crafts briefly entered US airspace during the Trump administration at least three times, as part of what national security officials have described as a years-long Chinese global surveillance program.

Former administration officials have suggested that the Pentagon may have withheld that information from them, if accurate, or have denied that such intelligence was ever passed on to them.

Biden administration enhancements to air surveillance found evidence of previous balloon flights, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

China suggests taking ‘countermeasures’ after US balloon incident

Wednesday 15 February 2023 15:20 , Alex Woodward

Chinese authorities warned on Wednesday that it will take “countermeasures” against US entities after shooting down a suspected surveillance balloon earlier this month.

“China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures in accordance with the law against the relevant US entities that undermine China’s sovereignty and security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a briefing, adding that Beijing will “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and its legitimate rights and interests.”

Wang did not specify what those countermeasures would include or who or what could be targeted.

China also has accused the US of deploying high-altitude balloons over its Xinjiang and Tibet regions after earlier this week claiming that the US sent balloons without permission into its airspace more than 10 times since May 2022.

“Without the approval of relevant Chinese authorities, it has illegally flown at least 10 times over China’s territorial airspace, including over Xinjiang, Tibet and other provinces,” Wang said.

The White House has denied the allegations.

Defense secretary not aware of any other objects in US airspace in last 48 hours

Wednesday 15 February 2023 14:30 , Alex Woodward

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters on Wednesday that he is “not aware of any additional objects that have been reported operating” in North American airspace within the last 48 hours.

The debris from previously shot-down objects, however, is “absolutely important” for US officials to determine what they were and how to develop policy around them.

The US will “do everything we can to recover debris if it’s possible,” he told reporters after a briefing with Nato officials in Brussels.

“That will help us learn a lot more about what these objects are,” he said.

Did China intend to send spy balloon over continental US?

Wednesday 15 February 2023 14:00 , Rachel Sharp

US officials are said to be exploring the possibility that China did not intend to fly its spy balloon over the continental US and Canada earlier this month.

Intelligence officials told The Washington Post that US intelligence agencies had been monitoring the balloon as soon as it left its base on Hainan Island near China’s south coast.

The balloon was under close watch as it began charting its flight path to the US territory of Guam.

But, the craft veered off course along the route, taking it over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Canada and Montana.

It was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on 4 February.

The change in direction indicates that the incident was in part a mistake by Beijing, the Post reported.

Japan says it ‘strongly suspects’ China sent spy balloons to its airspace

Wednesday 15 February 2023 13:30 , Rachel Sharp

Japan has said it “strongly suspects” that China sent spy balloons into its airspace in the past.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that three “balloon-shaped flying objects” were spotted in Japanese airspace between November 2019 and September 2021.

The ministry said that it “strongly presumed” they were sent by China and that it had asked Beijing about the incidents.

In the same stance given to the balloon that entered US airspace in early February, China denies the allegations.

“We firmly oppose the Japanese side’s smear campaign against China in the absence of conclusive evidence,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference.

Jon Tester will lead Senate probe into flying objects

Wednesday 15 February 2023 13:00 , Alex Woodward

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced on Tuesday that Montana Senator Jon Tester will lead probes into the objects that were shot down over North American airspace in recent days.

The Democratic senator led a panel last week to hear from military officials about the ballon that was spotted above his home state near sensitive military sites.

“We still have questions about why they didn’t discover these balloons sooner, these objects sooner,” Mr Schumer said on Tuesday. “Senator Tester is going to lead our caucus in investigating this.”

Mr Tester said on Sunday that the Biden administration and US military need to “have a policy” about unidentified objects in US airspace to recommend to the president to swiftly handle any future incursions.

“What’s been going on the last … 10 days has been nothing short of craziness,” he told CBS Face the Nation. “The military needs to have a plan to not only determine what’s out there, but determine the dangers that go with it.”

China calls Ohio train crash OhioChernobyl as it mocks US for caring too much about spy balloon

Wednesday 15 February 2023 12:30 , Rachel Sharp

The Chinese foreign ministry mocked the United States on Tuesday for its concerns over an alleged Chinese spy balloon while a toxic chemical leak from a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio threatens to become one of the most damaging environmental disasters in the country’s history.

“Apparently some in the US take a wandering civilian balloon as a big threat while the explosive train derailment and toxic chemical leak Not. #OhioChernobyl,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted.

US officials and national media outlets have thoroughly covered the journey of the alleged spy ballon, which the US shot down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4. Meanwhile a train derailment has forced residents of East Palestine and surrounding communities to vacate their homes.

Read more:

China mocks US for focusing spy balloon during train derailment

‘Leading’ theory is objects are commercial craft or ‘benign’, White House says

Wednesday 15 February 2023 12:00 , Alex Woodward

White House National Security Council strategic communication coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday that the “leading” theory behind the three recently shot-down objects are they were used for commercial or other “benign” purposes.

“The intelligence community’s considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” he said.

Officials have ruled out that the objects are government vessels, and intelligence suggests they are not linked to China, he said.

“We don’t know of any evidence right now that that confirms that they were in fact doing intelligence collection by another government,” he said.

US tracked Chinese spy balloon since it left Hainan Island – meaning it was under surveillance for week before entering airspace

Wednesday 15 February 2023 11:31 , Rachel Sharp

The US had been tracking the Chinese spy balloon ever since it left Hainan Island near China’s south coast – meaning it was under surveillance for almost a week before it entered American airspace, according to unnamed officials.

The spy balloon was ultimately shot down by the US military on 4 February and officials have been retrieving debris from the Atlantic Ocean for analysis.

But, The Washington Post has now reported that US intelligence agencies were monitoring the balloon as soon as it left its base on Hainan Island and began charting its flight path to the US territory of Guam.

The craft veered off course along the route, taking it over Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Canada and Montana, before it was shot down off the coast of South Carolina.

Officials told the paper they are exploring the possibility that it was indeed an accident for China to fly over North American airspace.

Did China launch the other objects shot down by American fighter jets?

Wednesday 15 February 2023 11:00 , Alex Woodward

A massive surveillance balloon that drifted across the US before it was shot down by an American fighter jet is believed to be part of a Chinese military fleet of similar intelligence-gathering aircrafts.

But military and White House officials say there is no indication that three smaller unidentified “objects” that were shot down above North American airspace in as many days are part of the same program, and may not have come from China at all.

The balloon’s intrusion into North American airspace was likely one of several from similar aircrafts in recent years, including three sightings during President Donald Trump’s administration, a revelation that has prompted the military to begin filtering in all kinds of other aerial objects on its radars.

The US military has reportedly widened its range of radar data as it monitors North American airspace for objects that might have otherwise been filtered out, with officials comparing their expanded radar search to search filters a prospective car buyer would use to broaden the parameters to find what they’re looking for.

While the White House tries to tamp down on baseless speculation and conspiracy theories, other US officials and members of Congress, who have received several classified briefings and testimony about the intrusion, continue to suggest that the other objects came from China.

Did China launch the other objects shot down by American fighter jets?

Marjorie Taylor Greene draws wild comparison between Chinese spy balloon and 9/11

Wednesday 15 February 2023 08:00 , Alex Woodward

US military officials contend that it was safer for American fighter jets to shoot down the massive balloon once it crossed into accessible waters rather than shoot it out of the sky while it was potentially a risk to people and buildings below.

But during an event in Idaho over the weekend, far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene called the reasoning from the Pentagon “pathetic, absolutely pathetic” and “a bunch of bull****”.

She compared the size of the balloon, which was roughly the size of three buses, to a plane – specifically, the United Airlines jetliner, one of four aircraft hijacked on 9/11. Passengers prevented hijackers from reaching their target in Washington DC by downing the craft in a field, killing all on board.

Marjorie Taylor Greene draws wild comparison between Chinese spy balloon and 9/11

First F-16 missile strike at flying object over Lake Huron missed, US officials confirm

Wednesday 15 February 2023 07:00 , Alex Woodward

The first missile fired by an American F-16 fighter jet in an attempt to take down an unidentified flying object over Lake Huron missed its target.

US officials confirmed on 14 February that the object - the third spotted above North American airspace in as many days - was taken down with a second shot when it appeared above the lake on 12 February. The first shot landed in the waters straddling the state of Michigan and the Ontario province of Canada.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Mark Milley confirmed the incident in separate briefings with reporters.

First F-16 missile at flying object over Lake Huron missed, US officials confirm