Chinese spy balloon – live: Defence official says balloons were in US airspace three times during Trump admin

In the wake of a Chinese spy balloon entering US airspace this week, a senior defence official is now saying Chinese spy balloons previously entered US airspace three times during Donald Trump’s presidency,

This comes as Mr Trump and other Republicans have rejected such assertions, attempting to blame the incursions on Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

The Defence Department said in a statement on Saturday that “Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration”.

Yet another balloon entered US airspace previously during Mr Biden’s time as president, the Associated Press reported.

Mr Trump appeared to be outraged at the statement from the Defence Department and the reporting of it, writing on Truth Social on Sunday morning that “the Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration”.

The previous four violations of US sovereignty didn’t go on for as long as the most recent incursion, which ended Saturday when the balloon was shot down by the US military off the coast of South Carolina.

Key Points

• Rubio questions Biden’s handling of balloon information release

• Chinese spy balloon crashed near Hawaii, another flew over Texas and Florida during Trump admin

• Republican representative calls on Biden to resign over Chinese balloon: ‘Catastrophic spectacle’

• Taiwan says Chinese balloon ‘should not be tolerated by the civilized international community'

• Defence department says Chinese balloons entered US airspace three times during Trump administration

Biden administration offers to brief Trump officials on spy balloons it failed to spot

10:01 , Rachel Sharp

The Biden administration has offered to brief former Donald Trump officials about the Chinese spy balloons they didn’t shoot down during his administration.

On Saturday, the Pentagon revealed that three suspected Chinese spy balloons travelled over the continental US during Mr Trump’s time in office.

Since then, Mr Trump has repeatedly denied the US intelligence, branding it “fake disinformation” and claiming Beijing had “too much respect” for him to have carried out surveillance in US airspace.

Now, a senior Biden administration official has revealed that all three potential surveillance programmes were only discovered after President Joe Biden took office. The official told CNN that the intelligence community is willing to provide briefings on the matter to some top Trump administration officials.

The revelation comes after Mr Trump and several Republicans took aim at Mr Biden over his handling of the spy balloon which was spotted flying over Montana – home to US nuclear missile sites – last week.

Arkansas GOP Senator claims balloon episode is a ‘humiliation’ for Biden

09:30 , Gustaf Kilander

GOP Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas appeared on Fox News on Sunday arguing that the Biden administration was “paralyzed for an entire week” and that the balloon episode was an “embarrassment”.

“What began as a spy balloon has become a trial balloon testing President Biden’s strength and resolve, and unfortunately, the president failed that test,” he claimed.

On Saturday, a senior defence official said similar occurrences had taken place several times while Donald Trump was president, something of which Mr Cotton claimed to be unaware.

“Maybe what’s even more worrisome is, one, that our senior military knew about these balloons in the past and did not inform their civilian superiors during the Trump administration. Or maybe worst of all, did we not know about these balloons in the past and we only learned about them in retrospect by studying historical data,” he said.

Rubio argues Biden should have appeared on ‘national television’ amid balloon incident

08:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees, told CNN on Sunday that “presidents have the ability to go before a camera, go before the nation, and basically explain these things early on, and his failure to do so, I don’t understand that, I don’t understand why he wouldn’t do that”.

He claimed that it was “the beginning of dereliction of duty”.

“I recognize that you shoot something out of the sky that’s the size of three buses and it lands in the wrong place it could hurt, harm, kill people or damage infrastructure,” he added on ABC News. “But by the same token, I think that if that was the case, then I think it really would have been helpful for the President of the United States to get on national television and explain to the American people ‘this is what we’re dealing with. this is what I’m going to do about it, and this is why I haven’t done it yet.’”

“I think more than anything else, beyond just the ability to collect information, it is the ability to send a clear message,” he told CNN.

“I think the broader relationship between the US and China, to anyone who has any doubts about it, now the bottom line is here, and that is we are now... China has been for some time and will be the primary strategic adversary of the United States and we should be focused on it,” he said.

He rejected Chinese assertions that the US had set a harmful precedent by shooting down the balloon.

“Listen, if we were to fly anything over China, they’re gonna shoot it down. They’re gonna shoot it down, and they’re gonna hold it up and they’re gonna take pictures of it and they’re gonna go bonkers about it. So, I don’t know what statement they’re making – you can’t fly anything over China now, anyway,” he said.

Republican argues shooting down balloon above Atlantic was like ‘tackling the quarterback after the game is over’

07:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Ohio GOP Representative Mike Turner, told NBC News on Sunday that “the president taking” the balloon “down over the Atlantic is sort of like tackling the quarterback after the game is over. The satellite had completed its mission”.

“This should never have been allowed to enter the United States, and it never should have been allowed to complete its mission,” he added.

“They need to make clear to all our adversaries, you’re not going to get to come the United States and take a tour of our most sensitive military sites, and have a free show,” Mr Turner argued.

House GOP China Committee chair tells Biden to not ‘fall for the Chinese Communist Party charm offensive.’

06:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The GOP chair leading the recently created House select committee on China said on Sunday that the Biden White House has to take a tougher stance against the country.

Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin representative, told Fox News that the balloon episode “makes us look weak and flat-footed on the world stage”.

“The message I have for the Biden administration is, ‘don’t fall for the Chinese Communist Party charm offensive.’ It’s a farce. It’s a bedtime story they tell out-of-touch global elites at Davos. It’s time to push back before it’s too late before something far more dangerous than a balloon is flying over American territory,” he claimed.

“Letting a Chinese surveillance balloon lazily drift over America is like seeing a robber on your front porch and inviting him in, showing him where you keep your safe, where you keep your guns, where your children sleep at night, and then politely asking him to leave. It makes no sense,” he added.

“If we don’t have the capability to neutralize it, corral it, collect it, look under the hood and exploit it, well, that’s a capability we need to develop with an $850 billion defence budget. Because I suspect it’s not the last time we’re going to see a Chinese probe,” he said.

Cruz praises and criticizes Biden’s choices

05:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Texas Senator Ted Cruz both praised on criticised President Joe Biden while speaking to CBS News on Sunday.

“I want to start by doing something that I don’t do very often, which is commending Joe Biden for actually having the guts to shoot this down. That was the right thing to do. That is absolutely what the president should have done,” Mr Cruz said.

“Unfortunately, he didn’t do that until a week after it entered US airspace. He allowed a full week for the Chinese to conduct spying operations over the United States, over sensitive military installations, exposing not just photographs but the potential of intercepted communications. And more broadly, I think this entire episode telegraphed weakness to” Chinese President Xi Jinping “and the Chinese government,” the senator said.

Schumer says Senate to get full briefing on China next week

04:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The Senate Majority Leader, New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, said on Sunday that the chamber’s members would be fully briefed on China next week.

“The full Senate, all senators of both parties, will have a larger and full China briefing next week. And that is something that I think will be very important, serious and hopefully nonpolitical,” Mr Schumer said during a Manhattan press briefing on Sunday.

“Under this full brief, all senators in both parties will be briefed by the Department of Defense on their office of Net Assessment (ONA) US-China Overmatch Study,” he added.

“We are hearing GOP criticism of the balloon mission,” he noted. “That they are saying we should have shot down the balloon the minute we saw it. I would use two words in answering these GOP criticisms: They are premature and they are political.”

“Our friends are playing politics with US intelligence,” he argued. “We sent a clear message to China that this is not acceptable. We protected civilians. We gained more intelligence while protecting our own sensitive information. And the bottom line here is shooting down the surveillance balloon over water wasn’t just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intelligence payload.”

Chinese spy balloons were in US airspace three times during Trump administration

03:30 , Gustaf Kilander

In the wake of a Chinese spy balloon entering US airspace this week, a senior defence official is now saying Chinese spy balloons previously entered US airspace three times during Donald Trump’s presidency,

This comes as Mr Trump and other Republicans have rejected such assertions, attempting to blame the incursions on Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.

The Defence Department said in a statement on Saturday that “Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration”.

Yet another balloon entered US airspace previously during Mr Biden’s time as president, the Associated Press reported.

Mr Trump appeared to be outraged at the statement from the Defence Department and the reporting of it, writing on Truth Social on Sunday morning that “the Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration”.

Read more:

Chinese spy balloons were in US airspace three times during Trump administration

Twitter users mock Chinese spy balloon after it’s shot down by US military

02:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Arkansas Republican tries to blame Obama for Chinese spy balloons

01:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton appeared on Fox News on Sunday morning, saying that former Trump officials told him they weren’t aware of “anything like this happening during their administration”.

A senior defence official has said that it happened three times while Donald Trump was president.

Shooting down balloon ‘sounds simple if you don’t think about it for more than a second,’ Buttigieg says

00:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday saying that shooting down the Chinese spy balloon “sounds simple, I suppose, if you don’t think about it for more than a second”.

Saturday Night Live interviews talking ‘Chinese spy balloon’ in latest episode

Sunday 5 February 2023 23:30 , Louis Chilton

Saturday Night Live began last night’s (4 February) episode with a sketch dedicated to the week’s “spy balloon” drama.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down by the US military on Saturday off the South Carolina coast, prompting a stern response from the Chinese government.

In an episode of SNL that aired that night Bowen Yang played a talking version of the balloon after it had been shot down.

“Well, ya got me! Congrats, you shot a balloon,” said Yang, dressed as “the remains of the balloon”. “I entertained you people for four days and then I get shot by Biden?

“I can’t believe I’m Joe’s Osama.”

Read more:

Saturday Night Live interviews talking ‘Chinese spy balloon’ in latest episode

‘Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace,’ Trump says in Truth Social rant

Sunday 5 February 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Sunday to blast the Biden administration’s handling of the balloon.

“The Chinese Balloon situation is a disgrace, just like the Afghanistan horror show, and everything else surrounding the grossly incompetent Biden Administration,” Mr Trump wrote.

“They are only good at cheating in elections, and disinformation — and now they are putting out that a Balloon was put up by China during the Trump Administration, in order to take the ‘heat’ off the slow moving Biden fools. China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did. JUST FAKE DISINFORMATION!” he added, without providing any evidence for his claims.

The Defence Department has said that Chinese balloons entered US airspace at least three times during the Trump administration.

“The balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Still, its intrusion into American airspace over several days was an unacceptable violation of US sovereignty,” the department’s website states, noting that an official said that “Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration”.

Republican dismisses report of spy balloons during Trump administration

Sunday 5 February 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Ohio Republican Representative Mike Turner dismissed reports that there were several Chinese spy balloons in US airspace during the Trump administration.

“That’s what they’re saying now,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.

Buttigieg notes ‘great cooperation’ between Pentagon and Federal Aviation Administration

Sunday 5 February 2023 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday saying that commenting on what information the balloon might have gathered was “well outside” his “lane”.

He said he was sure there’s a “presumption about what spy satellites do”.

“That is well outside of my lane, I’m just glad that nobody was hurt,” he added.

“The US has made clear this is an unacceptable intrusion into American sovereignty and I think you can expect that any further developments will be … appropriate in response to what happened,” the secretary said.

He added that the Federal Aviation Administration and the Pentagon worked together on handling the balloon.

“What I can speak to is the great cooperation we have between the FAA and the Pentagon to make sure that we’ll have a special military operation like what it took to bring down this balloon, that it happens without any threat to American lives and property,” Mr Buttigieg said on CNN.

Rubio questions Biden’s handling of balloon information release

Sunday 5 February 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio appeared on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, questioning the timing of when President Biden chose to release information regarding the balloon.

“How late into January did they already know that there was a high-altitude balloon and what its trajectory was and where it was headed? Why didn’t they take action at that time?” the senator asked.

South Carolina Rep says balloon reaction reminded him of movie Independence Day

Sunday 5 February 2023 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander

South Carolina Republican Representative Russell Fry appeared on Fox News saying that the reaction to the Chinese balloon reminded him of the movie Independence Day.

The balloon was shot down off the coast of his home state, and Mr Fry said people pulled off roads and came out on their porches to watch it come down.

Chinese spy balloon crashed near Hawaii, another flew over Texas and Florida during Trump admin

Sunday 5 February 2023 17:30 , Gustaf.Kilander

A Chinese spy balloon crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii four months ago, US officials have said, according to Fox News.

At least one balloon flew over parts of Texas and Florida while Donald Trump was president, the outlet reported.

This comes as Mr Trump told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning that such reports are “disinformation”.

“This never happened. It would have never happened,” the former president said, claiming that China “respected us greatly” when he was in the White House.

“It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately,” he added. “It’s disinformation.”

Republican representative calls on Biden to resign over Chinese balloon: ‘Catastrophic spectacle’

Sunday 5 February 2023 16:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Republican South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson has called for President Joe Biden to resign over his handling of the Chinese spy balloon, which was shot down by the US military off the coast of Mr Wilson’s home state.

“The catastrophic Chinese Spy Balloon spectacle clearly threatened American families from Alaska to my home community in South Carolina and confirms President Biden and Vice President Harris should resign,” Mr Wilson tweeted on Saturday night after the balloon had been taken out of the sky.

“My call for their resignation was valid in August 2021 due to the surrender and disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan, creating a safe haven for terrorists to attack American families. It was not political in 2021, when the succeeding President, then Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would have been a Democrat, or now in 2023 with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican,” he went on to claim.

Mr Wilson continued: “It is irrelevant for American families which party is in power because the first criteria of a leader should be their capability, regardless of party, and sadly Biden and Harris are failures. Resignation now is further reinforced as their open border policies have allowed hundreds of identified terrorists into America to commit mass murder.”

Read more:

Republican calls on Biden to resign over Chinese balloon: ‘Catastrophic spectacle’

Taiwan says Chinese balloon ‘should not be tolerated by the civilized international community'

Sunday 5 February 2023 15:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs has issued a statement harshly criticising China’s actions in connection to the spy balloon shot down off the east coast of the US, arguing that it “should not be tolerated by the civilized international community”.

“Such actions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government contravene international law, breach the airspace of other countries, and violate their sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement. “The CCP regime should immediately cease conduct of this kind that encroaches on other countries and causes regional instability.”

The ministry said on Saturday that China should cease actions that create instability in the region and that “encroaches on other countries”.

Defence department says Chinese balloons entered US airspace three times during Trump administration

Sunday 5 February 2023 14:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The Defence Department has said that Chinese balloons entered US airspace at least three times during the Trump administration.

“The balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Still, its intrusion into American airspace over several days was an unacceptable violation of US sovereignty,” the department’s website states, noting that an official said that “Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration”.

US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic ocean

Sunday 5 February 2023 13:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The US military has shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast.

The move comes as the airspace along the coast of North and South Carolina had been closed amid the national security operation.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that President Joe Biden had given the green light for the operation to go ahead.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop affecting three airports in North and South Carolina as the balloon drifted through its airspace, a spokesperson said.

“The FAA has paused departures to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” the statement said ahead of the balloon being taken down.

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US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic ocean

PHOTOS: Spectators watch balloon being shot down

Sunday 5 February 2023 12:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Everything we know about ‘Chinese spy balloon’ found hovering above northern US

Sunday 5 February 2023 11:30 , Graeme Massie and Gustaf Kilander

The US military has shot down a Chinese high-altitude spy balloon in the Atlantic off the eastern coast United States.

The White House decided against shooting it out of the sky above land after being advised against it by defence officials, including Gen Mark Milley the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff.

A Pentagon official said during a press briefing in Washington DC that the suspected balloon had been spotted over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday.

It had first flown over the Aleutian Islands, through Canada, and into Montana.

China confirmed ownership of the ballon, claiming it is a civilian airship used for research purposes that was blown off course unexpectedly by strong winds.

This is everything we know so far about the spy balloon.

Everything we know about ‘Chinese spy balloon’ found hovering above northern US

The history of spy balloons

Sunday 5 February 2023 10:30 , The Associated Press

Spy balloons aren’t new — primitive ones date back centuries, but they came into greater use in World War II. Administration officials said Friday there have been other similar incidents of Chinese spy balloons, with one saying it happened twice during the Trump administration but was never made public.

The Pentagon’s Ryder confirmed there have been other incidents where balloons came close to or crossed over the U.S. border, but he and others agree that what makes this different is the length of time it’s been over U.S. territory and how far into the country it penetrated.

Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said Chinese surveillance balloons have been sighted on numerous occasions over the past five years in different parts of the Pacific, including near sensitive U.S. military installations in Hawaii. The high-altitude inflatables, he said, serve as low-cost platforms to collect intelligence and some can reportedly be used to detect hypersonic missiles.

During World War II, Japan launched thousands of hydrogen balloons carrying bombs, and hundreds ended up in the U.S. and Canada. Most were ineffective, but one was lethal. In May 1945, six civilians died when they found one of the balloons on the ground in Oregon, and it exploded.

In the aftermath of the war, America’s own balloon effort ignited the alien stories and lore linked to Roswell, New Mexico.

According to military research documents and studies, the U.S. began using giant trains of balloons and sensors that were strung together and stretched more than 600 feet as part of an early effort to detect Soviet missile launches during the post-World War II era. They called it Project Mogul.

One of the balloon trains crash-landed at the Roswell Army Airfield in 1947, and Air Force personnel who were not aware of the program found debris. The unusual experimental equipment made it difficult to identify, leaving the airmen with unanswered questions that over time — aided by UFO enthusiasts — took on a life of their own. The simple answer, according to the military reports, was just over the Sacramento Mountains at the Project Mogul launch site in Alamogordo.

In 2015, an unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its mooring at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and floated over Pennsylvania for hours with two fighter jets on its tail, triggering blackouts as it dragged its tether across power lines. As residents gawked, the 240-foot blimp came down in pieces in the Muncy, Pennsylvania, countryside. It still had helium in its nose when it fell, and state police used shotguns — about 100 shots — to deflate it.

PHOTOS: Balloon shot out of sky by fighter jet

Sunday 5 February 2023 09:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Marjorie Taylor Greene slams Biden of balloon incident

Sunday 5 February 2023 08:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed President Joe Biden for his handling of the balloon incident.

“The Biden admin allowed the Chinese Spy Balloon to traverse the entire US and gather intel on our critical military infrastructure while the entire country screamed to shoot it down, before they finally shot it down. Biden refused to stop China,” she claimed on Twitter on Saturday afternoon.

She added: “They can never again talk tough as they wage war on Russia in Ukraine as they have now proven they serve China. Only weak men wage wars where they can’t be hurt but refuse to fight to protect our borders and our national security. Biden serves China first and America Last.”

US officials say they blocked balloon from gathering intelligence

Sunday 5 February 2023 07:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Video shows US shooting down Chinese spy balloon

Sunday 5 February 2023 06:30 , Gustaf Kilander

China threatens ‘further actions’ after US shoots down spy balloon

Sunday 5 February 2023 06:24 , Sravasti Dasgupta

China has hit out at the US and warned of further “actions” after the American military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast.

In a statement on Sunday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response."

Read more:

China threatens ‘further actions’ after US shoots down spy balloon

House Judiciary Committee Republicans slam Biden over balloon incident

Sunday 5 February 2023 05:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee slammed President Joe Biden and his administration’s handling of the balloon incident.

“THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TRIED TO HIDE THE CHINESE SPY BALLOON FROM THE AMERICAN PUBLIC,” they tweeted on Saturday, linking to a New York Post report alleging that the White House attempted to cover up the incident.

The administration was aware that the balloon was in US airspace for almost a week before it was shot down, the paper reported, adding that it was kept secret out of concerns that it would impact Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to the country.

Mr Blinken’s trip has now been postponed.

Where is the Chinese ‘spy’ balloon now?

Sunday 5 February 2023 04:30 , Bevan Hurley

US authorities were closely tracking a Chinese airship that was spotted flying over sensitive nuclear sites in Montana this week. The suspected spy balloon was shot down along the coast of the Carolinas on Saturday.

Chinese officials shared “regret” on Friday and claimed the balloon was conducting meteorological research and had been accidentally blown off course by winds.

A Pentagon official called the air balloon “a clear violation of US sovereignty” at a press briefing on Friday and and dismissed China’s claims that it is not a spy ship.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called off a planned trip to Beijing this weekend as the diplomatic stand-off intensified.

The Pentagon initially resisted calls from Republican lawmakers to shoot the “intelligence gathering” airship down. President Joe Biden later gave the green light for the operation to go ahead on Saturday.

Read more:

Where is the Chinese ‘spy’ balloon now?

Top Chinese diplomat says country has ‘strictly followed international law'

Sunday 5 February 2023 03:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The top Chinese diplomat, Wang Yi, said earlier on Saturday that China “has always strictly followed international law”.

He added that “we do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments and manage differences”.

He said the balloon’s path was out of China’s control and he urged the US not to “smear” the country based on the recent events.

China has said that it “regretted” that the balloon unintentionally entered US airspace.

An associate professor at the National University of Singapore, Alfred Wu, said the apology appeared insincere.

“In the meantime, the relationship will not improve in the near future ... the gap is huge,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

Chinese military expert pushes back against US

Sunday 5 February 2023 02:35 , Gustaf Kilander

Chinese military expert Chen Haoyang appeared on one of the largest TV channels in the country, Phoenix TV, to push back against the US reaction to the discovery of the Chinese spy balloon in US airspace.

“The U.S. is hyping this as a national security threat posed by China to the U.S. This type of military threat, in actuality, we haven’t done this. And compared with the U.S. military threat normally aimed at us, can you say it’s just little? Their surveillance planes, their submarines, their naval ships are all coming near our borders,” the expert said, according to the Associated Press.

VIDEO: Blinken postpones China trip as balloon over US fuels tensions

Sunday 5 February 2023 01:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Meteorologists and storm chasers shares photos and videos of balloon

Sunday 5 February 2023 00:30 , Gustaf Kilander

Meteorologists and storm chasers shared photos and videos of the balloon as they tracked its path across the US before it was shot down.

The #ChineseSpyBalloon and #ChinaBalloon hashtags were frequently used on Twitter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared a graphic of its path, showing it leaving US airspace and heading out into the skies above the Atlantic off the coast of North Carolina ahead of the national security operation.

At 12.31pm on Friday, the National Weather Service in Kansas City tweeted: “We have had several reports across northwest MO of a large balloon visible on the horizon. It is now visible from our office in Pleasant Hill and the KC Metro. We have confirmed that it is not an NWS weather balloon.”

Dan Satterfield, a meteorologist in Salisbury, Maryland, tweeted on Friday afternoon that if “ it can be raised and lowered, the track might vary quite a bit. It would have to be lowered into the commercial air lanes though to change it a lot”.

China downplays Blinken’s cancelled amid spy balloon fallout

Saturday 4 February 2023 23:35 , Gustaf Kilander

China is downplaying the cancelled visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken amid the fallout of the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon over US airspace.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that “in actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that”.

Mr Blinken was set to visit China on Sunday for discussions focused on reducing the tensions between the two countries. It would have been the first trip of a top diplomat following the meeting of Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Indonesia in November.

Depth of debris will make recovery ‘fairly easy,’ official says

Saturday 4 February 2023 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The US Navy and the Coast Guard are working to secure the area.

The debris from the downed balloon ended up at a depth of 47 feet, which “will make it fairly easy” to recover it, a Navy official told CNN.

“Capable Navy divers” will enter the waters to aid the recovery effort in addition to “unmanned vessels that can go down to get the structure and lift it back up on the recovery ship,” the official said.

The official said the operation could take “a relatively short time”.

“I don’t anticipate months and weeks,” they said.

Defence Secretary blasts China’s 'unacceptable violation of our sovereignty’

Saturday 4 February 2023 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander

In a statement on Saturday, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said that “this afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People's Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace”.

“The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters. On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon's path,” he added.

“After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload. In accordance with the President's direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities,” the secretary said.

“This action was taken in coordination, and with the full support, of the Canadian government. And we thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through NORAD as it transited North America. Today's deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC's unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he concluded.

VIDEO: Joe Biden wanted Chinese balloon shot down ‘as soon as possible’

Saturday 4 February 2023 20:30 , Ollie Cooper

Biden authorized balloon take down ‘without undue risk to American lives'

Saturday 4 February 2023 20:26 , Gustaf Kilander

In a statement on Saturday, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Mr Biden authorized the takedown of the balloon on Wednesday as soon as possible “without undue risk to American lives,” CNN reported.

The military said “downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area”.

Biden says he gave order to shoot down balloon on Wednesday

Saturday 4 February 2023 20:23 , Gustaf Kilander

President Joe Biden said on Saturday afternoon that he “ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible”.

He added that military leaders chose to wait until the balloon was above water as it was “the safest place to do it”.

Schumer slams Xi Jinping, praises Biden amid spy balloon shoot-down

Saturday 4 February 2023 20:19 , Gustaf Kilander

Watch: Moment Chinese ‘spy balloon’ is shot down over Carolina

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:57 , Ollie Cooper

Footage shows the moment the Chinese “spy balloon” was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean, near the coast of Carolina.

Video shared by Twitter users @ashlynforsc and @haleyewalsh shows the moment of the impact.

The Associated Press say that President Joe Biden gave the green light to shoot the balloon down, hours after announcing that he was going to “deal with” the situation.

China has so far denied any spying, with diplomat Wang Yi stating: “China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law.”

‘First of all, well done!’: Fox News airs live footage of balloon descent after impact

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:52 , Gustaf Kilander

Video shows moment balloon is shot out of sky

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:48 , Gustaf Kilander

US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic ocean

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:42 , Gustaf Kilander

The US military has shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast.

This comes as the airspace along the coast of North and South Carolina had been closed amid the national security operation.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that President Joe Biden had given the green light for the operation to go ahead.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop affecting three airports in North and South Carolina as the balloon drifts through its airspace, a spokesperson said.

“The FAA has paused departures to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” the statement said.

Read more:

US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic ocean

Chinese social media users concur with government stance

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:35 , Gustaf Kilander

Many users of Chinese social media appeared to agree with the government’s stance that the US was overhyping the situation.

Many account holders joked about the spy balloon, and others suggested that since the US has placed restrictions on the kinds of technology China can purchase, they were unable to control the balloon, the Associated Press reported.

Some users referred to it as the “wandering balloon” in reference to the recently released Chinese sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth 2.

Some mocked the US for being unable to stop a balloon from entering its airspace. A number of nationalist influences used the story to make fun of the US.

“The U.S., because of the balloon incident, delays Blinken’s visit to China,” one wrote.

Censorship was quickly put in place, with the “wandering balloon” hashtag on the social media platform Weibo not being searchable by Saturday night.

Biden admin prepares to shoot down Chinese spy balloon and restricts airspace over Carolina Coast

Saturday 4 February 2023 19:18 , Gustaf.Kilander

The Biden administration is going ahead with a plan to shoot down the Chinese balloon over the Atlantic, officials have said.

This comes as the airspace along the coast of North and South Carolina has been closed amid the expected national security operation.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that President Joe Biden has given the green light for the operation to go ahead.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a ground stop affecting three airports in North and South Carolina as the balloon drifts through its airspace, a spokesperson has said.

“The FAA has paused departures to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” the statement said.

Biden administration considering plan to shoot down balloon over Atlantic

Saturday 4 February 2023 18:37 , Gustaf Kilander

The Biden administration is considering a plan to shoot down the Chinese balloon over the Atlantic, officials have said. This comes as the airspace along the coast of North and South Carolina has been closed amid the expected national security operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a ground stop affecting three airports in North and South Carolina as the balloon drifts through its airspace, a spokesperson has said.

“The FAA has paused departures to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” the statement said.

The balloon is suspected of conducting spying activities on the US military.

Four US officials have said the plan is to bring it down over the ocean to recover remnants of the balloon, the Associated Press reported.

Biden: US is ‘going to take care of’ Chinese spy balloon

Saturday 4 February 2023 17:35 , Gustaf Kilander

President Joe Biden said on Saturday that the US will “take care of” the Chinese spy balloon.

Mr Biden was answering a question from a reporter while getting into his car at an airfield in Syracuse, New York, where the president was visiting members of his family.

He was asked by CNN if the US would shoot down the balloon.

“We’re gonna take care of it,” the president said.

Mr Biden has been looking at options with military leaders since his initial briefing on the balloon on Tuesday.

Advisers have warned against shooting it down over land as debris may injure people or damage homes.

Spy balloon spotted over North Carolina, video shows

Saturday 4 February 2023 16:35 , Gustaf Kilander

The balloon was spotted above Ashville in western North Carolina on Saturday morning.

Resident Kim Hixson posted footage appearing to show the balloon at 8.48am on 4 February, CNN noted.

The balloon was seen later on Saturday floating further eastward, reaching Charlotte, footage from WSOC shows.

The suspected spy balloon is expected to continue on its path east and leave the continental US by Saturday.

On Friday night, it was projected that it would enter the sky over the Atlantic at the Outer Banks on North Carolina’s eastern shoreline.

China balloon: Many questions about suspected spy in the sky

Saturday 4 February 2023 15:35 , The Associated Press

The massive white orb drifting across U.S. airspace has triggered a diplomatic maelstrom and is blowing up on social media.

China insists the balloon is just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and has only limited “self-steering” capabilities.

The United States says it is a Chinese spy balloon without a doubt. Its presence prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a weekend trip to China that was aimed at dialing down tensions that were already high between the countries.

The Pentagon says the balloon, which is carrying sensors and surveillance equipment, is maneuverable and has shown it can change course. It has loitered over sensitive areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed, leading the military to take actions to prevent it from collecting intelligence.

A Pentagon spokesman said it could remain aloft over the U.S. for “a few days,” extending uncertainty about where it will go or if the U.S. will try to safely take it down. And late Friday, the Defense Department acknowledged reports of a balloon flying over Latin America — assessed as “another Chinese surveillance balloon.”

Everything we know about ‘Chinese spy balloon’ found hovering above northern US

Saturday 4 February 2023 14:35 , Graeme Massie

The US military is tracking a Chinese high-altitude spy balloon as it makes its way over the northern United States.

But the White House decided against shooting it out of the sky after being advised against it by defence officials, including Gen Mark Milley the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff.

A Pentagon official told a press briefing in Washington DC the suspected balloon had been spotted over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday.

It had first flown over the Aleutian Islands, through Canada, and into Montana.

China has since confirmed ownership of the ballon, saying it is a civilian airship used for research purposes that was blown off course unexpectedly by strong winds.

This is everything we know so far about the spy balloon:

Everything we know about ‘Chinese spy balloon’ found hovering above northern US

Chinese social media mocks balloon incident

Saturday 4 February 2023 13:35 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Reactions on Chinese social media mirrored the official government stance that the US was hyping up the situation.

Many users made jokes about the balloon.

While some said that they could not control the balloon since the US had put restrictions on the technology that China is able to buy.

Others called it the “wandering balloon” in a pun that refers to the newly released Chinese sci-fi film called “The Wandering Earth 2.”

Some users also mocked the US’s defences for not being able to block a balloon.

Censorship was visible on the topic — the “wandering balloon” hashtag on Weibo was no longer searchable by Saturday evening, reported Associated Press.

ICYMI: Trump leads calls for Pentagon to shoot down the Chinese air balloon

Saturday 4 February 2023 13:05 , Sravasti Dasgupta

Donald Trump has called on the Pentagon to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that Beijing says accidentally veered off course over the United States.

In a four word, all caps post on Truth Social on Friday morning, the former president wrote: “Shoot down the balloon.”

Bevan Hurley has more:

Trump leads calls for Pentagon to shoot down the Chinese air balloon over Montana