U.S. officials are keeping a close eye on a giant suspected spy balloon from China the size of three city buses that is hovering some 60,000 feet above the country, skating its way across the midwest much of Friday.
The Biden administration has called the move "unacceptable," though officials have cautioned that it poses no physical or military threat to civilians.
Its appearance, spotted over Montana on Thursday, came on the eve of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's planned trip to Beijing, where he was set to meet with Chinese officials on diplomatic issues. He called the deployment of a surveillance balloon "an irresponsible act."
"The world expects the United States and China to manage our relationship responsibly," Blinken told reporters Friday after his trip was postponed.
The white balloon is flying higher than civilian air traffic, but it can be seen from land.
"It is maneuverable," Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said, meaning it is being directed on a course — not floating freely, and it is equipped with solar panels.
Beijing has admitted the balloon is theirs but Chinese authorities have claimed that it is merely a weather apparatus that got off track, an assertion rejected by U.S. officials.
"The fact is, we know it is a surveillance balloon," Ryder said.
Ryder wouldn't say whether the balloon has the capability to drop anything, and he wouldn't provide details about its path.
Officials have considered shooting it down but have held off on the idea because of the danger it would pose to people and property.
"It is big enough that in reviewing our approach we recognize that any debris field would be significant," Ryder said.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that President Biden weighed the options, ultimately prioritizing "the risks to security and safety of the people on the ground."
"The president will always put the safety and security of the American people first," she said.
Still, Biden is facing backlash from some Republicans who have accused his administration of lapses in national security.
"I am demanding answers from the Biden administration about the spy balloon that flew over our airspace," Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) tweeted. "The administration failed to protect our border and now has failed to protect our skies."
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