The Pentagon has confirmed the balloon was being used for surveillance, disputing China's claim that it was a civilian aircraft used for meteorological purposes. Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the balloon didn't pose a physical or military threat, and once it was detected, the U.S. took steps to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.
The FBI is expected to take custody of any recovered components of the balloon and ship them to its lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis and intelligence gathering, a senior government official told ABC News.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China as the balloon's presence over the continental U.S. added new tension to the U.S.-China relationship. Blinken called the balloon a "clear violation" of U.S. sovereignty and international law.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder disputed statements from China that the balloon spotted over the continental U.S. is a meteorological research device.
“We are aware of the PRC (People's Republic of China) statements. However, the fact is, we know it’s a surveillance balloon,” Ryder said. “I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that.”
“We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is not acceptable,” Ryder told reporters. “We’ve conveyed this directly to the PRC at multiple levels.”
Feb 03, 2023, 12:13 PM EST
Balloon is moving eastward, now hovering over the central US
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder provided an update Friday on where the balloon is flying.
"While we won't get into specifics in regards to the exact location I can tell you that the balloon continues to move eastward and is currently over the center of the continental United States," Ryder told reporters. "Again, we currently assess that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time."
Feb 03, 2023, 12:04 PM EST
GOP lawmaker says he's in favor of 'shooting' China balloon down
Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, chair of the newly-formed House Select Committee on China, told ABC News Live on Friday he doesn't "buy" China's statements that the balloon flying over the U.S. is a meteorological device that was blown off course.
"It also doesn't strike me as a coincidence that this was in the vicinity of the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana," Gallagher said, "where we have our Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles."
Gallagher said he believed Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made "the right call" postponing his trip to China over the controversy.
On the balloon itself, Gallagher said he was "in favor of shooting it down."
"I think we had plenty of options to shoot it down or even better, find a way to reduce its altitude and capture it so we can get a look at the instrumentation," he told ABC News' Alexis Christoforous.
Feb 03, 2023, 11:35 AM EST
US will keep lines of communication open with China: Official
A senior State Department official said the U.S. was still dedicated to keeping lines of communication with China open despite postponing Secretary Antony Blinken's visit.
"The secretary was prepared to depart for Beijing tonight to take on a wide-ranging agenda," the official told reporters. "We have noted the PRC statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law. And it is unacceptable it has occurred."
"After consolations with our interagency partners, as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at the moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China," the official added.
The official said Blinken has indicated he will visit China when conditions allow, but did not stipulate what those conditions would have to be.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Nusa Dua on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, July 8, 2022.
Stefani Reynolds/POOL/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
They also said talks with Beijing would continue across multiple levels of government and that Blinken had been in touch with his Chinese counterpart Friday morning.
"We will maintain open lines of communication with the PRC to address our concerns about this ongoing incident and to responsibly manage the competition between our countries," the official said.
Asked whether the department believed China's explanation of the balloon's purpose and how it happened into American airspace, the official said, "We remain confident in our assessment of the situation."
