A Chinese spy balloon has been spotted over the US, the Pentagon is monitoring it

The Pentagon noted that cases of such activity have been observed over the past few years.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said that the US defense department has been monitoring the Chinese spy balloon for several days . He conducts reconnaissance over the northern part of the United States.

“We are confident that this high-altitude balloon belongs to China. Cases of such activity have been observed over the past few years, including by the administration. The balloon is now flying at an altitude significantly higher than commercial air traffic and does not pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground “, – quotes the words of Ryder CNN .

The US military decided not to shoot down the spy balloon. US officials are working on this issue with the Chinese government through both the Chinese embassy in Washington and the US diplomatic mission in China.VIDEO OF THE DAYplay video

It is noted that although the current flight path of the Chinese balloon passes over “several sensitive places,” this does not pose a significant risk to intelligence gathering.

Espionage in the USA

A Russian warship has been on duty off the Hawaiian Islands for several weeks now, where the main naval base of the US Pacific Fleet is located. The US Coast Guard suspects that a Russian ship is near the islands for espionage purposes .

In November 2022, a US federal court in Cincinnati sentenced Chinese citizen Xu Yanjun , who was involved in espionage. The man was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Earlier, the FBI charged the spouses, US Medical Major Jamie Lee Henry and her wife, doctor Anna Gabrielyan, with conspiracy to transfer classified information to the Russian authorities .

(C)UNIAN 2023