INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
including nuclear-missile silos, Defense Department officials said Thursday.The Chinese balloon, spotted earlier this week, was loitering
over Montana for a short time and briefly caused the grounding of planes in Billings as a precaution, a senior official told reporters on
customary condition of anonymity
Officials said it poses no intelligence threat and a decision was made not to shoot it down because of the possible risk of falling
Brigadier General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters
trip to the Philippines on Wednesday and informed President Joe Biden
said.US Wins Expanded Access to Philippine Bases Amid China TensionsThe US official declined to answer several questions about the balloon,
including the precise target of its surveillance, its size or other specifications
assertiveness in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan
The US secured access to more Philippine military bases, clearing the way for a greater American presence in the region.Tensions between
Washington and Beijing have been running high, with the Biden administration becoming more explicit about its willingness to defend Taiwan
in the event of a conflict
Last week, an Air Force general told his staff he believed the US and China would be at war by 2025.The senior official said the US had
raised the balloon issue with China
balloon had been spotted over US territory, though this one is staying longer than in past cases
The official declined to say why the US believed the balloon belonged to China but said the US had high confidence that was the case.
