China claims the “spy balloon” found hovering over Montana is actually meant for weather research purposes and accidentally flew off-course into US airspace.
“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The ministry also invoked the term “force majeure,” essentially blaming the mishap on uncontrollable events. “Affected by the Westerlies (prevailing winds) and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course,” it added. “The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”
In contrast, the Pentagon has described the object as an “intelligence-gathering balloon" that's been traveling at a high altitude. On Thursday, the US Defense Department alerted the public about the object after residents in Billings, Montana, spotted it.
“Once the balloon was detected, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said without elaborating.
Defense officials also said they're tracking the balloon and had already warned China that the US could shoot it down. But so far, the government has refrained from doing so over concerns that debris from the downed balloon “might put civilian communities at risk.”
A senior defense official added: “First, our best assessment at the moment is that whatever the surveillance payload is on this balloon, it does not create significant value added over and above what the PRC [People’s Republic of China] is likely able to collect through things like satellites in Low Earth Orbit.”
On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry initially said it was still “gathering and verifying the facts” about the balloon. But the agency added: “China is a responsible country and we always act in accordance with international law. We have no intention to violate the territory or airspace of any sovereign country.”
China now says it’s communicating with the US on how to address the situation.