The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has acknowledged that the balloon flying over the United States is its own, but that it is a civil aircraft "for mainly meteorological uses" that is over the state of Montana because "it deviated from its route", while Canadian authorities have reported another possible aerostat over their territory.
The confirmed existence aircraft flies over an area where the United States has concentrated most of its ground-based strategic nuclear missiles. Specifically, the balloon is located in the region where the Malmstrom base is located, in the state of Montana, from which several dozen Minuteman missile launch silos are controlled. There are similar military installations in the neighboring states of North Dakota and Wyoming.
Beijing's acknowledgment that the balloon is its own only confirms suspicions about the aircraft's intentions. China first denied any responsibility, saying that whoever said there was a balloon over the US "is only showing their ignorance." The fact that he admits that the balloon is flying over the US at high altitude is thus a 180 degree turn that does little to allay Washington's suspicions. The incident occurred 36 hours after the scheduled visit to Beijing by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in the highest-ranking official meeting between the two countries since Joe Biden arrived at the White House. However, Blinken has confirmed on Friday afternoon that he will postpone his trip to the Chinese capital.
The use of hot air balloons to carry out espionage missions is very old. During the American Civil War, both sides - the North and the South - used them, and the Union forces, which opposed the secession of the slave states, even went so far as to create the Balloon Corps to spy on their enemies. In World War I its use became widespread. And in the 1950s the United States launched dozens of high-altitude balloons from the territory of its European NATO allies to spy on the Soviet Union's nuclear tests.
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