The U.S. Department of Defense is tracking a Chinese spy balloon that was spotted over Billings, Montana.
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00:00There's a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon floating over the northern United
00:03States right now. The Chinese foreign ministry has claimed the balloon but says it's a civilian
00:08airship used for weather research and was blown off course. The U.S. Department of Defense,
00:13however, has labeled it an intelligence-gathering balloon and has been tracking it for days.
00:18Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect
00:22against the collection of sensitive information, the DOD said.
00:25Officials decided against shooting it down, saying it doesn't pose a threat to civilians
00:30on the ground or in the air. And, according to a senior defense official, the balloon has
00:34limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective. Others have explained
00:39that it can't gather any more information than China can already get using its satellites.
00:43Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to travel to Beijing but postponed his trip
00:48after the sighting. The move is expected to heighten tensions between the U.S. and China.