U.S. government authorities claimed this week that they had observed a Chinese surveillance balloon above the United States and Canada, but China asserted on Friday that the object in question is a “civilian airship.” This argument has plainly been rejected by the Biden administration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his weekend trip to Beijing on Friday after announcing that his government is “certain” the high-altitude drone is being used for spying.

“We’re confident this is a Chinese surveillance balloon” says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, following his decision to postpone his trip to China – adding “we continue to track and monitor the balloon closely”.https://t.co/N8qEoDRLn2

📺 Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/MsYPvTAYql

— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 3, 2023

Blinken elaborated at a subsequent news conference, saying, “It’s a breach of international law.” Saying anything like that is “irresponsible” is an understatement.

The military has been monitoring the balloon for many days, according to a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, and President Joe Biden was initially informed on the situation on Tuesday. For reasons of public safety, the government has been urged to refrain from shooting it down.

On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder updated reporters, saying the balloon is still in its current location above the central United States and poses no “military or physical danger to civilians on the ground.” Moreover, Ryder has said many times that the ship seems to be capable of evasive manoeuvres and not to have just wandered off course.

“The US airspace has been obviously breached. That’s a fact that we’ve already shared with you “Ryder remarked, to the government of China.

The intrusion into US airspace was unintentional and regretted, according to a representative for China’s foreign ministry, who informed reporters that the blimp is used only for meteorological research.

But pilots keep reporting seeing the balloon. A good zoom lens will also allow you to view it from the ground. Video of the intruder, unsurprisingly, has started to circulate online. For the time being, officials said they will keep an eye on where it goes.