The authorities shut down the airport around Billings, Montana for three hours, and then that really set people speculating about what exactly was going on in the sky above their heads. I am sitting in my driveway here in Billings, Montana. And then another mysterious thing happened on Wednesday. But it also looked like maybe a planet, a star. That’s not the sun what the heck is that? edward wong It’s been there stationary for about the last 35 minutes. Residents in Montana looked up in the sky And saw this mysterious object. Well, I think it first started on Wednesday. Today, my colleague Edward Wong on how a balloon could trigger such a high-stakes showdown, and what it says about the relationship between the world’s two superpowers that it did.Įd, tell us the saga of this Chinese balloon. Over the past week, an object of curiosity in the sky over Montana turned into a crisis between the US and China. sabrina taverniseįrom “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email with any questions. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. This transcript was created using speech recognition software. Blinken tells a Chinese diplomat in Washington in the evening that the American government has the right to take any actions to protect its interests.Transcript A Chinese Balloon and a Diplomatic Showdown Over the past week, an object of curiosity in the sky over Montana turned into a crisis between Washington and Beijing. military might shoot down the spy balloon. officials convey to Chinese officials several times that the U.S. Austin advise against shooting down the balloon, which has an undercarriage roughly the size of three buses, while it is over land because of the possibility of debris harming civilians and infrastructure. Austin III, in the Philippines at the time, calls a meeting of senior military and defense officials to review options, per Mr. One Pentagon official calls the balloon a blatant, and poorly concealed, effort at spying. Air Force bases that operate and maintain intercontinental ballistic missiles. The balloon makes its way to the skies above Billings, Mont., which alarmed Pentagon officials because the state is home to the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three U.S. Biden also orders that no activities or sensitive unencrypted communications would be conducted in the path of the balloon. The president asks for military options, including the immediate destruction of the aircraft. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, alerts President Biden. The balloon re-enters the United States over Idaho, to the surprise of officials at Northern Command as well as at the Pentagon. 30īy the end of the day, it has exited American territory and is over Canada, officials say, carrying its solar panels that power its propulsion and its cameras and surveillance equipment. At first it appears to trackers at United States Northern Command to be just another one of China’s light probes around the edges of America’s defensive borders. The spy balloon starts a controlled drift into American territory, entering Alaskan airspace near the Aleutian Islands. Here's a day-by-day timeline of the balloon’s flight and decision-making in Washington: Saturday, Jan. officials to their Chinese counterparts, and the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony J. The arrival - and extended stay - of the balloon over American territory prompted furious calls from senior U.S. By Wednesday, the balloon was hovering over Montana, and a full-blown diplomatic crisis was underway. The president had been discussing military options with the Pentagon since Tuesday, when he was alerted by the Pentagon that a spy balloon had entered the continental American airspace near Idaho.
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