US tracking Chinese spy balloon spotted flying over sensitive sites

The United States is tracking a suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon spotted flying over highly-sensitive nuclear weapon sites in the country, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The balloon was recently seen above the western state of Montana, which houses underground Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile silos.

Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the department was confident that the balloon belonged to the People’s Republic of China. 

"Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration. 

The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground," Ryder said.

The senior Pentagon official added that at President Joe Biden's request, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and top military officials considered shooting the balloon down, but decided against it as it would endanger too many people on the ground.

The balloon reportedly entered US airspace a couple days ago, and the US intelligence had been tracking it well before that.

The Pentagon also flew fighter jets to examine the balloon while it was above Montana.

President Joe Biden was told about high-altitude balloon, which is the size of three buses, and he wanted to explore military options on how to deal with it, sources quoted.

However, senior military leaders, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, reccomended not shooting it down.

The US government has reportedly contacted the Chinese government through the Chinese embassy in Washington and the US diplomatic mission in China in this regard.

This isn't the first time that China is sending spy balloons over the US, but this is the first time it lingered over the US this long. Interestingly, this comes at a time when Seccretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to Beijing next week.