Top US Diplomat Postpones China Trip after Balloon Seen over US
2023-02-04
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1U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned weekend diplomatic trip to China.
2The decision followed the discovery of a Chinese balloon flying over sensitive areas in the United States Thursday.
3The U.S. described the balloon as a surveillance vehicle.
4But a Chinese official said it was a weather research satellite that had gone off course.
5The decision came just hours before Blinken was to leave for China.
6A U.S. official told the Associated Press that Blinken and President Joe Biden decided that it was best not to make the trip at this time.
7Blinken's meetings with senior Chinese officials had been considered a way to find common ground on a number of issues.
8Those issues could include Taiwan, human rights, China's claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia's war in Ukraine, trade policy and climate change.
9The meetings were to begin on Sunday and go through Monday.
10On Thursday, U.S. military officials said the Chinese balloon was flying over the state of Montana.
11The western state is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
12Chase Doak lives in Billings, Montana.
13He told Reuters that, at first, he thought the balloon was a star.
14"But I thought that was kind of crazy because it was broad daylight and when I looked at it, it was just too big to be a star," he said.
15A senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets to shoot down the balloon if ordered.
16But the U.S. chose not to act since debris from the large balloon could have put people at risk.
17The official said the spy balloon was meant to fly over the Montana missile fields.
18The U.S. believes that the flyover would have "limited" intelligence value.
19The official said China could still get the information using other technologies, such as spy satellites.
20Brigadier General Patrick Ryder is a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department.
21He told reporters Thursday that the balloon was "traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."
22However, the discovery of the balloon alarmed both government officials and lawmakers.
23Some members of the U.S. Congress urged the Biden administration to take stronger measures against China.
24In the past, China had spoken out against surveillance attempts by the U.S. and others over areas it considers to be its territory.
25In a statement on Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for weather research.
26The ministry said the airship has limited "self-steering" capabilities and went "far from its planned course" because of winds.
27I'm Bryan Lynn.
1U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a planned weekend diplomatic trip to China. 2The decision followed the discovery of a Chinese balloon flying over sensitive areas in the United States Thursday. 3The U.S. described the balloon as a surveillance vehicle. But a Chinese official said it was a weather research satellite that had gone off course. 4The decision came just hours before Blinken was to leave for China. A U.S. official told the Associated Press that Blinken and President Joe Biden decided that it was best not to make the trip at this time. 5Blinken's meetings with senior Chinese officials had been considered a way to find common ground on a number of issues. Those issues could include Taiwan, human rights, China's claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia's war in Ukraine, trade policy and climate change. The meetings were to begin on Sunday and go through Monday. 6Balloon flying over U.S. western area 7On Thursday, U.S. military officials said the Chinese balloon was flying over the state of Montana. The western state is home to 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos at Malmstrom Air Force Base. 8Chase Doak lives in Billings, Montana. He told Reuters that, at first, he thought the balloon was a star. "But I thought that was kind of crazy because it was broad daylight and when I looked at it, it was just too big to be a star," he said. 9A senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets to shoot down the balloon if ordered. But the U.S. chose not to act since debris from the large balloon could have put people at risk. 10The official said the spy balloon was meant to fly over the Montana missile fields. The U.S. believes that the flyover would have "limited" intelligence value. The official said China could still get the information using other technologies, such as spy satellites. 11Brigadier General Patrick Ryder is a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department. He told reporters Thursday that the balloon was "traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground." 12However, the discovery of the balloon alarmed both government officials and lawmakers. Some members of the U.S. Congress urged the Biden administration to take stronger measures against China. 13In the past, China had spoken out against surveillance attempts by the U.S. and others over areas it considers to be its territory. 14In a statement on Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for weather research. The ministry said the airship has limited "self-steering" capabilities and went "far from its planned course" because of winds. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16Hai Do adapted this story for VOA Learning English from Associated Press and Reuters reports. 17_______________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19surveillance -n. the act of carefully watching someone or something to gain information 20silos -v. an underground structure used for storing missiles 21broad daylight -idiom clear for everyone to see; during the brightest part of the day 22debris -n. the wreckage of something that has been destroyed 23altitude -n. the distance from the ground to something that is high in the sky 24commercial -n. related to business; part of a business service aimed at making a profit 25steer -v. to control the direct that something goes in 26_______________________________________________________________ 27We want to hear from you. 28We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.