Suspected Chinese spy balloon spotted over western US

The US is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted flying over its airspace in recent days. The Pentagon has so far decided not to shoot it down due to concerns about injuring people on the ground.

A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that authorities are “very confident” that it is a high-altitude Chinese balloon that flew over sensitive locations to collect information.

One of the places the balloon was seen was Montana, home to one of the country’s three nuclear missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Patrick Ryder has said the US government continues to monitor the balloon and that it “is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and poses no military or physical threat to people on the ground. ”

The incident comes days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his first trip to Beijing, expected this weekend, to try to find common ground between the two world powers.

While the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have spoken of its imminent arrival.

It was not immediately clear whether the discovery of the balloon would affect Blinken’s travel plans.

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