China Claims Suspected Spy Balloon Is Actually ‘Civilian Airship’ That Was Blown Off Course | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the The Daily Wire. The author of this post is Tim Pearce.

Publisher's Note: Following this noteworthy and infamous story regarding the Chinese Spy Balloon caper, an inarguable embarrassment for the feckless Biden Administration, will be this series of posts, an archival history, chronicling the Misinformational Misadventure that wholly embarrassed this leader of the Democratic Socialists' Authoritarian regime.

    China's foreign ministry said Friday that a balloon suspected by the U.S. of being used for covert surveillance is actually a "civilian airship" that was pushed off course.

    The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs put out a statement expressing regret after the Pentagon announced Thursday that it was tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

    "The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes," China's foreign ministry said in a statement. "Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course."

    "The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to" unforeseen forces outside of its control, the statement continued. "The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure."

    The incident has altered the plans of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was scheduled to meet with Chinese officials in Beijing on Sunday and Monday. Because of the aircraft, Blinken's trip has been postponed indefinitely, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    Earlier on Friday, Canada's national defense said that it was monitoring a "potential second incident" involving a suspected Chinese aircraft. China's foreign ministry has not addressed that claim.

    "A high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected and its movements are being actively tracked by [North American Aerospace Defense Command] NORAD," Canada's national defense said in a statement, according to the U.K.'s Independent.

    "Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident," the statement said.

    Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department is tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon over U.S. airspace. The balloon was first spotted over Montana.

    "We continue to track and monitor it closely," Ryder said. "Once the balloon was detected the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information."

    He added that the balloon was "traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."

    The incident has raised national security concerns among lawmakers on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) called the incident a "brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty" and called on President Joe Biden to act.

    "China's brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent. I am requesting a Gang of Eight briefing," McCarthy tweeted Thursday evening.

    The Gang of Eight, a group of Republican and Democrat Congressional leaders briefed on classified national security matters, was reportedly briefed on the suspected spy balloon late on Thursday afternoon.

    The Pentagon has so far elected not to shoot down the balloon, despite having a "very high confidence" that the aircraft is being used by Beijing to collect surveillance data, according to the Associated Press. Defense officials fear that bringing the balloon down poses too great a risk for collateral damage on the ground.

poll#174

Among the many other lackluster performance standards by the Biden Administration - the most recent, allowing the Chinese Spy Balloon unfettered access to the skies above this Sovereign Republic - Joe Biden's foreign policy is considered by most true experts to be mediocre to abysmal at best. If one were to give a fair assessment of the quality of this apex duty of this Executive Branch: What would be your opinion of the Biden Administration's Foreign Policy initiatives and, or obvious faux pas?

  President Biden is a Foreign Policy expert of consummate skill just like his brother, Jim, and his son, Hunter.

  America's First Idiot President is corruptly committed to making the World far less safe, while surrendering OUR United States of America's sovereignty whenever, wherever possible.

  Mr. Biden is MY President because I pay close attention to only what rewards me, thus demanding as little sacrifice as is my nature to offer, or shrug.

239 total vote(s)     What's your Opinion?