China says it reserves right to respond to downing of surveillance balloon
The balloon's flight over the U.S. added tension to the U.S.-China relationship.
A massive Chinese surveillance balloon that moved across the continental U.S. this week has been shot down.
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.
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Previous balloon incidents near Hawaii, Guam in 2022: US officials
U.S. officials confirmed that previous balloon incidents involving China occurred near Hawaii and Guam last year.
In February 2022, a balloon appeared to be stationary in international waters northwest of Kauai, Hawaii, the officials said.
The Hawaii incident came shortly after a similar incident that year near Guam, according to one of the officials.
Both incidents in the Pacific involved high-altitude balloons that came from China, the officials said.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
'Gang of 8' to be briefed on surveillance balloon next week
The so-called "Gang of 8" will receive a briefing from the administration on the Chinese surveillance balloon next week, according to a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The "Gang of 8" includes congressional leadership and the top Democrat and Republican members of the House and Senate intelligence committees: Schumer, Sen. Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Mark Warner, Rep. Jim Himes and Rep. Mike Turner.
The exact date and time of the briefing is not yet known.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
US may wait to shoot balloon down over the Atlantic: US official
As the balloon appears to be heading toward North Carolina, the current thinking is to wait until it is over the Atlantic Ocean to then try to shoot it down and retrieve it, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation.
There is too great a risk to try to shoot it down over the continental U.S., the official said. Since the U.S. wants to keep the balloon to study it, and there are otherwise risks of an international incident, U.S. officials are working on plans to shoot it down so that it also lands in U.S. territorial waters, the official said.
A substantial localized airspace shutdown will likely be required in order to protect civilians while the U.S. tries to down the balloon, which is likely being navigated via Chinese spy satellites, the official said.
-ABC News' Josh Margolin
’Job One’ is getting balloon out of US airspace: Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, taking questions about the Chinese surveillance balloon, said the first step should be getting it out of U.S. skies.
"Job One is getting it out of our airspace," he said.
Blinken said they've made it clear to China the action is "clearly unacceptable" and addressed further his decision to delay traveling to Beijing until conditions allow for a visit.
"Any country that has its airspace violated in this way, I think would respond similarly," he said. "And I can only imagine what the reaction would be in China if they were on the other end."
China claims balloon is civilian in nature
The Chinese Foreign Ministry is saying the balloon is civilian in nature and used for scientific research, "mainly meteorological."
"The airship is from China," the foreign ministry said. "Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure."
It continued, "The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure."
"Force majeure" refers to something that is done beyond the control of the government.