Ottawa and Washington expressed their disapproval about a high-altitude surveillance balloon from China found floating over the United States.
A high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Mont., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. China's ambassador to Canada has been called onto the carpet to explain a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is hovering over the U.S. Global Affairs Canada says Ambassador Cong Peiwu was summoned on Thursday after the balloon was spotted over U.S. airspace.
U.S. officials also announced Secretary of State Antony Blinken was postponing a planned high-stakes weekend diplomatic trip to China, even as the Biden administration weighed a broader response to the discovery of the balloon. “In terms of the discussions about whether or not to shoot down this balloon, that was an option,” he said. “Because we assess that currently it does not pose a physical or military risk to people on the ground, for now we’re continuing to monitor and review options.”
In a relatively conciliatory statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research. The ministry said the airship has limited “self-steering” capabilities and “deviated far from its planned course” because of winds. Guy Saint-Jacques, who served as Canada’s ambassador to China from 2012 to 2016, was skeptical of the Chinese government’s explanation. If it were true, he said, Beijing would have notified Ottawa and Washington about what was happening.
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