ບາລລູນທີ່ສົງໄສວ່າ ເປັນບາລລູນສອດແນມຂອງຈີນ ບິນຢູ່ເໜືອທ້ອງຟ້າສະຫະລັດມາເປັນເວລາຫລາຍມື້ແລ້ວ ອີງຕາມຄຳເວົ້າ ຂອງພວກເຈົ້າໜ້າທີ່ສະຫະລັດໄດ້ກ່າວໃນວັນພະຫັດວານນີ້.
ນາຍພົນຈັດຕະວາ ແພຕຣິກ ຣາຍເດີ ໂຄສົກທຳນຽບຫ້າແຈ ກ່າວວ່າ ບາລລູນນີ້ ກຳລັງ “ບິນຢູ່ເທິງການສັນຈອນທາງອາກາດຂອງເອກກະຊົນ ແລະບໍ່ໄດ້ສະແດງການຂົ່ມຂູ່ທາງທະຫານ ຫຼືທາງຕົວຕົນແຕ່ຢ່າງໃດ ຕໍ່ປະຊາຊົນຢູ່ທາງພາກພື້ນດິນ.”
ສູນກາງປ້ອງກັນທາງອະວະກາດພາກແຫ່ງທະວີບອາເມຣິກາເໜືອ (NORAD) ກຳລັງຕິດຕາມເບິ່ງບາລລູນນີ້ຢູ່ ແຕ່ພວກເຈົ້າໜ້າທີ່ບໍ່ໄດ້ກ່າວວ່າ ບາລລູນນັ້ນຢູ່ໃສແທ້ ໃນປັດຈຸບັນ.
ອົງການ NORAD ກ່າວຢູ່ໃນຖະແຫລງການວ່າ ຕົນ “ກຳລັງຕິດຕາມ ແລະສັງເກດການ” ເບິ່ງບາລລູນນີ້ “ຢ່າງໃກ້ຊິດ.”
ການພົບເຫັນບາລລູນໄດ້ມີຂຶ້ນບໍ່ເທົ່າໃດມື້ ກ່ອນແຜນການເດີນທາງໄປຈີນ ຂອງ ລັດຖະມົນຕີຕ່າງປະເທດສະຫະລັດ ທ່ານແອນໂທນີ ບລິງເຄັນ. ຍັງບໍ່ເປັນທີ່ຈະ ແຈ້ງໃນທັນໃດເທື່ອວ່າ ການພົບເຫັນບາລລູນນີ້ ອາດມີຜົນກະທົບ ຕໍ່ແຜນການເດີນທາງຂອງທ່ານ.
ບາລລູນໄດ້ຖືກພົບເຫັນໃນວັນພຸດທີ່ຜ່ານມາ ຢູ່ລັດມອນຕານາທາງພາກຕາເວັນ ຕົກສຽງເໜືອຂອງສະຫະລັດ ອັນເປັນທີ່ຕັ້ງຂອງຖານທັບອາກາດສະຫະລັດນຶ່ງໃນສາມແຫ່ງ ທີ່ຄວບຄຸມການປະຕິບັດງານ ແລະຮັກສາລູກສອນໄຟຂີປະນາວຸດຂ້າມທະວີບ.
ການສັນຈອນທາງອາກາດ ອອກຈາກນາ ສະໜາມບິນເມືອງບິລລິງ ລັດມອນຕາ ໄດ້ຢຸດສະງັກຊົ່ວໄລຍະນຶ່ງ ໃນວັນພຸດທີ່ຜ່ານມາ ໃນຂະນະທີ່ສະຫະລັດລະດົມເຮືອບິນລົບ ຕິດຕາມເບິ່ງບາລລູນໜ່ວຍນີ້.
ພວກເຈົ້າໜ້າທີ່ກອງທັບໄດ້ແນະນຳບໍ່ໃຫ້ຍິງບາລລູນນັ້ນລົງ ເພາະຊິ້ນສ່ວນຈາກການຖືກທຳລາຍ ອາດເປັນຜົນຮ້າຍຕໍ່ປະຊາຊົນ ຢູ່ພື້ນດິນ.
ບາລລູນສອດແນມ ທີ່ພວກເຈົ້າໜ້າທີ່ທຳນຽບຫ້າແຈກ່າວວ່າ ໄດ້ເດີນທາງມາສະຫະລັດ ຈາກປະເທດຈີນ ຂ້າມບັນດາໝູ່ເກາະ Aleutian ໃນລັດອາລາສກາ ແລະຜ່ານທາງພາກຕາເວັນຕົກສຽງເໜືອ ຂອງການາດາ.
China said Friday it is working to verify a U.S. report that a Chinese spy balloon is traveling over the United States.
“Verification is under way,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Friday. She urged calm “until the facts are clear.”
"China is a responsible country and always abides strictly by international law. We have no intention of violating the territory or airspace of any sovereign country," she said.
On Thursday, U.S. officials said a suspected Chinese spy balloon had been flying over the United States for several days.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the balloon is traveling “well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is tracking the balloon, but officials would not say where the aircraft is currently.
NORAD said in a statement that it “continues to track and monitor” the balloon “closely.”
The detection of the balloon came just days before U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s long-planned trip to China. It was not immediately clear how the discovery of the balloon might affect his travel plans.
Mao said Friday she did not have any information about Blinken’s trip.
The balloon was spotted Wednesday over the northwestern state of Montana, which houses one of the three U.S. Air Force bases that operate and maintain intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Air traffic out of the Billings, Montana, airport briefly came to a halt Wednesday as the U.S. mobilized fighter jets to track the balloon.
Military officials advised against shooting down the balloon because of the damage its debris could cause to people on the ground.
The spy balloon, Pentagon officials said, traveled to the U.S. from China across the Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and through northwest Canada.
Canada said Thursday that it is working with the U.S. to track a high-altitude surveillance balloon, and it was monitoring a "potential second incident."
Canada's Defense Department said in a statement, “Canadians are safe, and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident."
The balloon above Montana was not the first Chinese balloon spotted in the U.S, but this one seems to be hovering over locations longer than before, according to a military official.
U.S. officials said measures have been taken that would prohibit the massive, unmanned reconnaissance balloon from gathering any intelligence, but officials have not said what those moves are.
Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia and former Royal Australian Air Force officer, told CNN, “An advantage of balloons is that they can be steered using onboard computers to take advantage of winds and they can go up and down to a limited degree. This means they can loiter to a limited extent.”
In contrast, Layton said, “A satellite can’t loiter and so many are needed to crisscross an area of interest to maintain surveillance.” The balloon is likely gathering information on U.S. communication systems and radars, he said.
A senior U.S. official told reporters that the goal of the spy balloon was “surveillance and clearly they're trying to fly this balloon over sensitive sites ... to collect information."
Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union used similar surveillance balloons during the Cold War, Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Reuters about the aircraft’s inexpensive intelligence gathering.
Spy balloons usually operate at 24,000-37,000 meters, far above the operating levels of commercial airline traffic and fighter jets.
