China admits Montana balloon is theirs but claims it’s a ‘civilian research airship’ blown off course by ‘wind’
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China’s foreign ministry said a balloon spotted over the United States was a “civilian airship” that had blown off course due to wind.
“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace,” a statement from the foreign ministry said.
It comes a day after the Pentagon announced it was tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over American airspace.
A senior US defence official told reporters in a briefing that the Pentagon had “very high confidence” the object was a high-altitude balloon conducting surveillance over sensitive military sites.
The balloon was spotted over Billings, Montana, a little over 200 miles from a nuclear missile silo field at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Source: independent.co.uk