Pentagon determines ‘likely’ origin for high-altitude balloon intercepted by US Military over Utah – one year after Chinese spy balloon provoked diplomatic crisis

The Pentagon determined that the high-altitude balloon found Friday and intercepted by the US military was “probably” a “hobby balloon.”

In a statement Saturday, NORAD, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, said the mysterious balloon was monitored from ground-based radars “until it left U.S. airspace overnight.”

“The balloon was intercepted by NORAD fighters over Utah, who determined that it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security,” NORAD said.

‘The FAA also determined that the balloon posed no danger to the safety of flight. NORAD remains in close coordination with the FAA to ensure flight safety.

The most recent discovery came after a Chinese spy balloon was found floating over the US and was eventually shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on February 4, 2023.

The balloon, which entered US airspace over Alaska in January, eventually flew over a US military base in Montana before being shot down by an F-22 Raptor off the coast of Surfside Beach.

In June, the Pentagon said it had “intelligence collection capabilities” but that no transmission data was collected before the interception.

The discovery then provoked Beijing, which promised countermeasures, adding another strain to a relationship already battered by trade practices, tariffs, Taiwan, human rights and China’s ties with Russia before President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.

Republicans criticized President Joe Biden for not taking him down sooner. The incident led to a period in which the military shot down other unidentified objects.

The earlier incident forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned trip to China, criticizing it as an “irresponsible act.”

In June, the president said he didn’t believe “the leaders knew where it was and they knew what was there and they knew what was going on,” calling it “more embarrassing than intentional.”

China claimed the balloon was being used for climate-related issues, although US intelligence agencies concluded it was being used for spying.

The two leaders met for four hours at a historic house outside San Francisco. Their meeting began with a warm handshake and a declaration from Xi that the world is “big enough” for both countries, despite years of escalating rhetoric and provocations.

“The China-U.S. relationship has never been easy and always faces problems of one kind or another,” Xi said through a translator as he met with Biden.

‘However, it has continued to move forward through twists and turns. For China and the United States, turning their backs on each other is not an option. It is unrealistic for one side to reshape the other, and conflict and confrontation have dire consequences for both sides. “Planet Earth is big enough for both countries to be successful.”

Biden said it was “important that we truly understand each other, leader to leader,” and underscored the risks if the two countries could not find a way to get along despite their differences.

“We have to ensure that competition does not turn into conflict and we have to manage that competition responsibly,” Biden told his counterpart. ‘That is what the United States wants and what we intend to do. I think that’s also what the world wants from both of us.

Xi, 70, told Biden, 80: “We bear great responsibilities for the world and history.”

In recent news, former President Donald Trump said he plans to escalate his trade war with China if he wins the 2024 election.

Meanwhile, Biden plans to introduce a series of restrictions of his own that would prevent China from entering America’s “essential industries,” such as the electronics and semiconductor industry, in an effort to stem the flow of American cash to China.