The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has confirmed that a second Chinese spy balloon is operating in the skies above the Americas amid concerns over the first craft maneuvering above Montana.
Late Friday, the Pentagon released a statement confirming that the second balloon, like the first, is a “Chinese surveillance” airship.
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America,” Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.
“We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.”
Ryder revealed Friday that the spy balloon is currently operating over the United States.
However, the Biden administration has not taken action against it.
The Pentagon confirmed that the balloon has the ability to maneuver and has changed direction at 60,000 feet.
Ryder would not say how the balloon could be maneuvered and refused to state if China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party is in control of the balloon.
“We know that balloon has violated US airspace and international law — which is unacceptable,” he told reporters Friday.
“And we’ve conveyed this directly to the PRC on multiple levels.
“The fact is, we know that it’s a surveillance balloon, and I’m not going to be able to be more specific than that.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in a statement that the balloon was a “civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes.”
The statement claimed that the balloon “deviated far from its planned course.”
The distance from China to Montana is approximately 5,000 miles.
A U.S. official told The New York Times that the spy balloon traveled from China to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and then to Canada before ending up over Montana.
An official told CNN that the spy balloon has flown over “a number of sensitive sites” in the U.S.
However, the official claimed that it did not present a serious intelligence-gathering risk.
“Clearly they’re trying to fly this — this balloon over sensitive sites … to collect information,” a U.S. official said on Thursday.
Biden administration officials claimed that they looked at whether there were options to shoot down the balloon but claimed that they did not feel comfortable doing so because it could cause damage to civilians when it hits the ground.
Professor Steve Tsang, the director of the China Institute at the SOAS University of London, said that China’s motive in sending the balloon to the U.S. is more “symbolic value, showing that the Chinese are able to send something in the air to survey U.S. military installations.”
Democrat President Joe Biden has not yet commented on the escalating situation.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) tweeted: “President Biden should stop coddling and appeasing the Chinese communists.
“Bring the balloon down now and exploit its tech package, which could be an intelligence bonanza.”
Similar sentiments are echoing through Republican ranks as the public demands a more muscular response.
READ MORE: Trump Offers Simple Solution for Chinese Balloon: Shoot It Down
