(CNSNews.com) – The White House on Friday acknowledged that a Chinese surveillance balloon that is currently floating over the United States is violating U.S. sovereignty and international law, “and it is unacceptable this occurred.”
That being said, the U.S. military has advised President Biden that shooting down the balloon will put at risk the safety and security of people on the ground, so it is closely tracking the balloon, but President Biden is keeping “all options on the table.”
During a press gaggle on board Air Force One en route to Philadelphia, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden was briefed about the balloon on Tuesday and has “continued to receive regular briefings and updates from the national security team.”
As CNSNews.com reported, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday, "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now.”
Ryder said the balloon is well above commercial air traffic and doesn’t pose a threat to civil aviation.
Ryder said the U.S. “acted immediately” to protect America against the collection of sensitive data once the balloon was detected.
“President Biden was briefed, as I just stated, and he asked the military to present options. It was the strong recommendation by Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, the commander of Northern Command not to take kinetic action because of the risk to safety and security of the people on the ground,” the White House press secretary said.
“President Biden took that recommendation from the military seriously-- of his advisers clearly. The president will always put the safety of the security of the American people first, and as my colleague said over at the Department of Defense earlier today, we are tracking closely and keep all options on the table,” Jean-Pierre said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken decided to delay a planned trip to China after the balloon was discovered.
“I can say as it relates to Blinken’s trip, the president agrees with the secretary’s decision to not go on this trip. It was a consensus that it was not appropriate to travel to the People’s Republic of China at this time. We know that the PRC statement of regret that the presence of this balloon in our airspace, it is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable this occurred,” the White House press secretary said.
When asked what this says about U.S.-Chinese relations at this time, Jean-Pierre said, “And to your question about the relationship moving forward, look, the president is always going to put the safety of Americans and the security of the American people first.
“Under this president, we are more prepared to outcompete China, protect our national security, and advance a free and open Indo-Pacific than ever before. Many of the efforts we have been pursuing are bipartisan, underscoring the alignment at home on this key issue,” she said.
Asked whether the U.S. will try to capture the balloon while it is in U.S. airspace, the press secretary said, “As you heard from my colleague, they are clearly keeping an eye on the balloon and going to continue to monitor it.
“We’re not going to give any more specifics than that, but it is something that the Pentagon is keeping a close eye on, and I’m just not going to get ahead of a flight path or the pattern or anything like that,” Jean-Pierre said.
When asked whether Biden has ruled out shooting down the balloon and whether that is something he’s still considering, the press secretary said, “We’re going to continue to monitor. I’m going to clearly leave it to the Department of Defense to figure out the next steps as they monitor this.”