{"id":1833869,"date":"2023-02-03T10:21:04","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T15:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1833869"},"modified":"2023-02-03T10:25:44","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T15:25:44","slug":"u-s-government-monitoring-suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-hovering-over-northern-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-government-monitoring-suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-hovering-over-northern-states\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Government Monitoring Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Hovering Over Northern States"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fu-s-government-monitoring-suspected-chinese-spy-balloon-hovering-over-northern-states%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1833869&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<p class=\"speakable\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/defense\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. government<\/a> Monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance ballon that has been flying over northern US states for several days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Brig. General Pat Ryder stated that the U.S. government had detected a high-altitude surveillance satellite balloon above the continental U.S. during a briefing Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p><i>&#8220;<\/i>The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now. The U.S. government to include Norad, continues to track and monitor<i>\u00a0<\/i>it closely. 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. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/defense\/pentagon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ryder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.com\/DOWNLOAD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS App<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/640\/320\/AP23033841588042.jpg?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"ADDS PENTAGON RESPONSE THAT IT WOULD NOT CONFIRM - A high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Mont., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023. The Pentagon would not confirm that the balloon in the photo was the surveillance balloon.\u00a0\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n ADDS PENTAGON REPONSE THAT IT WOULD CONFIRM &#8211; On Wednesday, February 1, 2023, a high altitude balloon floated over Billings, Mont. U.S. officials have confirmed that a Chinese surveillance balloon has been observed over U.S. Airspace for several days. However, the Pentagon did not decide to shoot it down because of the risk of injury to people on the ground. The Pentagon did not confirm that the surveillance balloon was in the photo.\u00a0<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(Larry Mayer\/The Billings Gazette via AP).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/640\/320\/Untitled-design-399.png?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"Red flags flutter in front of the Great Hall of the People before the annual two sessions in Beijing on March 4, 2022.\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n Before the two annual sessions in Beijing, March 4, 2022, the Great Hall of the People hosts red flags.<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(VCG \/ VCG via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Senior defense officials stated that the U.S. government was &#8220;ineffective.&#8221; &#8220;confident&#8221; The surveillance balloon belongs the People&#8217;s Republic of China.<\/p>\n<p>The defense official stated that the balloon had been seen over Montana recently and that officials considered taking it down with military assets. However, they decided not to do so due to the potential risks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You did see reports yesterday of a ground stop at Billings Airport and the mobilization of a number of assets, including F-22. The context for that was that we put some things on station in the event that a decision was made to bring this down while it was over Montana. So, we wanted to make sure we were coordinating with civil authorities to empty out the airspace around that potential area. But even with those protective measures taken, it was the judgment of our military commanders that we didn&#8217;t drive the risk down low enough. So, we didn&#8217;t take the shot,&#8221; The official stated.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/640\/320\/MAPX_USA_LOCATION_OF_CHINESE_SPY_BALLOON.png?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"Map shows approximate path of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over Montana, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n Map depicts the approximate route of a Chinese surveillance satellite over Montana, Friday February 3, 2023.<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(Fox News)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/640\/320\/7618d7d8-AP23033154886683-e1675348090994.jpg?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center, walks past military guards during his arrival at the Department of National Defense in Camp Aguinaldo military camp in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines, on Thursday.\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center, passes military guards on his arrival at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Metro Manila (Philippines), Thursday.<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(Rolex Dela Pena \/ Pool Photo via AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/us-philippines-announce-new-agreement-ramp-up-military-presence-amid-china-taiwan-tensions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>US, PHILIPPINES UNVEIL A NEW AGREEMENT IN AN OPPORTUNITY TO RAMP UP MILITARY PRESENCE AMID CHINA TAIWAN TENSIONS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fox News was informed by a senior U.S. official that the government is still exploring a range of options regarding the Chinese spy balloon. He said that Biden and his national security staff were presented with options, including concerns about civilian casualties if the balloon was shot down.<\/p>\n<p>According to the source, the White House is open to shooting down the balloon if necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Sources say there is more to it than a balloon. Heavy equipment could come to rest if it was shot down, creating large debris fields.<\/p>\n<p>Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense held a meeting Wednesday with senior Department of Defense leaders. The balloon was discussed and it was decided not take military action. &#8220;the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field,&#8221; The official stated. The official said at the time. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Austin was visiting<\/a> Camp Navarro, located approximately 2,000 miles from China in the Philippines is called Camp Navarro.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The discovery of the balloon comes at a time when the U.S., Philippines and Taiwan have agreed to increase their military presence in the islands. This is amid increasing tensions between China (and Taiwan).<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/640\/320\/taiwan-us-flag.jpg?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"Flags of Taiwan and U.S. are placed for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 27, 2018.\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n On March 27, 2018, the flags of Taiwanese and American flags will be placed at Taipei, Taiwan.<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(Reuters \/ Tyrone Siu).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Senior defense official claimed that the government had been following the balloon&#8217;s movements for some time. &#8220;some time&#8221; It was reported that it had entered U.S. airspace. &#8220;couple of days ago.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Officials maintain that the balloon isn&#8217;t a military threat to America, but they said it doesn&#8217;t likely gather any valuable information to the U.S. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">People&#8217;s Republic of China<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re trying to fly this balloon over sensitive sites, one of which was just mentioned to collect information,&#8221; According to the official, it wasn&#8217;t the first time that a balloon has been inflated. &#8220;of this nature&#8221; a country that has outnumbered the U.S.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Fox News Digital&#8217;s writer Adam Sabes. You can send story tips to <a href=\"mailto:Adam.Sabes@fox.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam.Sabes@fox.com<\/a> Follow @asabes10 on Twitter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. government Monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance ballon that has been flying over northern US states for several days. Brig. General Pat Ryder stated that the U.S. government had detected a high-altitude surveillance satellite balloon above the continental U.S. during a briefing Thursday afternoon. &#8220;The United States government has detected and is tracking a &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1833872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[17453,4117,5045,17454,12468,6484,6893,6516,7238],"class_list":["post-1833869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-balloon","tag-chinese","tag-government","tag-hovering","tag-monitoring","tag-northern","tag-spy","tag-suspected","tag-u-s"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1833869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1833869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1833872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1833869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1833869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1833869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}