Ajit Karn
Washington: On Thursday, the Pentagon said it was keeping an eye on a Chinese spy balloon that was flying high over the United States and seemed to be watching nuclear weapons sites that were very sensitive.
At the request of President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top military officials thought about shooting down the balloon, but they decided that doing so would put too many people on the ground in danger, according to a senior defence official.
The official said that the balloon flew over the northwest of the United States, where there are sensitive airbases and underground silos with strategic missiles.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, “It’s clear that this balloon is meant for surveillance, and its current flight path does take it over a number of sensitive sites.”
But the Pentagon didn’t think it was a very dangerous threat to intelligence.
“From the point of view of gathering intelligence, we think this balloon doesn’t add much,” the official said.
The balloon entered US airspace “a couple of days ago,” the official said, but US intelligence had been watching it for a long time before that.
After Biden asked what could be done about it, Austin met with top Pentagon officials on Wednesday while he was in the Philippines.
While the balloon was over Montana and talks were going on, fighter jets were sent up to check out the balloon.
But the Pentagon decided “not to take physical action” because the possible debris field could threaten the safety and security of people on the ground, an official said.
The official also said that it was flying high enough that it did not pose a threat to commercial aviation.
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In the past, China has sent spy balloons over the United States.
The official said that this one, though, has been in US airspace much longer.
“We are still taking steps to keep sensitive information from being gathered by foreign spies,” the official said.
