INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his upcoming trip to China in response to the flying of a suspected Chinese spy balloon
over the United States, in what marks a significant new phase in the tensions between Washington and Beijing.Blinken, who was due to depart
Friday night for Beijing, said at a press conference Friday that the high-altitude surveillance balloon flying over the continental United
Blinken told reporters Friday.Blinken said that the US is confident the balloon over the US is a Chinese surveillance balloon, and the
a balloon transiting Latin America
Patrick Ryder said in a statement to CNN.It is unclear exactly where over Latin America the balloon is, but a US official told CNN that as
of Friday evening, it did not appear that balloon was currently heading to the United States.The Chinese foreign ministry claimed Friday
civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes
Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course
said.The Pentagon assesses that the balloon will be remain over the US for a few days, a spokesman said Friday
The balloon was spotted in Missouri on Friday and is moving toward the East Coast.It could exit the East Coast as early as Saturday morning,
based off of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather model.Two US defense officials also told CNN that the balloon is
expected to reach the East Coast and then pass out to sea in the southeast, near the Carolinas
Members of my team consulted with our partners in other agencies, and in Congress
Biden and other top national security officials, according to people familiar with the matter.White House officials had viewed US-China
several months.But Biden has been sensitive to criticism from Republicans and others that he is too soft on China
And while he agreed with Pentagon recommendations not to shoot down the balloon because it posed a threat to people on the ground, he did
balloon, a second US official told CNN
That message was conveyed directly by Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, according to the senior State Department
Montana where 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles are buried in missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base.Pentagon spokesman Brig
Patrick Ryder said the US government has been tracking the balloon for several days as it made its way over the northern United States,
shooting down the balloon, once it is deemed safe to do so
However, no decisions have been made yet, the officials said.According to a defense official, US Northern Command is coordinating with NASA
suspected surveillance balloon is currently moving eastward and is over the central United States
substructure is significantly larger and taller, the official said.Biden was first briefed on the incident on Tuesday and has continued to
receive updates, Jean-Pierre said.Staff for the congressional intelligence leaders were briefed Thursday afternoon, and Pentagon State
Department officials briefed leadership staff and national security staff on Friday, the official added
relies primarily on the jet stream
balloon to an extent, for example, by turning on and off the surveillance gear inside of it, the sources said.Pentagon officials said they
did not believe the balloon had surveillance or intelligence-gathering capabilities above and beyond Chinese spy satellites in low earth
orbit, but unlike satellites that pass rapidly over a location every 90 minutes, a spy balloon can loiter over a spot and gather more of a
taking any action or publicizing their presence over the US, the sources said
It is also not the first time a surveillance balloon has appeared over the United States.The US official said there were similar incidents
with suspected Chinese surveillance balloons over Hawaii and Guam in recent years
