Chinese spies fly over the US in a balloon: Pentagon

 D.C., Feb. 3 (Reuters) - According to U.S. authorities, a Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the country for a few days. This would be a daring gesture only days before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Beijing.

Fighter planes were activated, but military officials recommended President Joe Biden not to fire the balloon out of the sky out of concern that flying debris could endanger his safety, advice Biden reportedly followed.

One of the sources told reporters under the condition of anonymity that the United States had taken "custody" of the balloon when it entered American territory and had been watching it with manned military planes.

Without providing any other information, Canada's military ministry said it had discovered a "high-altitude observation balloon" and was keeping an eye on a "possible second incident." It also claimed it was in constant contact with the US.

At a Georgetown University speech in Washington, DC, CIA Director William Burns described China as the "greatest geopolitical issue" facing the United States at the time the news first broke. View More

According to Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, "The United States government has spotted and is following a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is now over the continental United States." The balloon is now flying at a height much above commercial air traffic, and neither a military threat nor a physical danger to anyone on the ground exists.

Beijing was "verifying" the situation, according to Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry.

She said at a normal daily briefing in Beijing on Friday: "I would want to underscore that speculation and hype will not be beneficial to the correct resolution of the matter until the facts are disclosed. China abides by international law."

According to Mao, "China has no intention of breaching the soil or airspace of any sovereign state."

According to American officials, they discussed the issue diplomatically with their Chinese colleagues. According to a U.S. official, "We have expressed to them the seriousness with which we take this matter."

The balloon was deemed to have "little incremental value from an intelligence collecting perspective," according to a U.S. official.

In accordance with a visit that Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to in November, Blinken is anticipated to depart for China the following week. It was unclear how the spy balloon's discovery may affect such plans.

The spy balloon, according to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, is troubling but not unexpected.

Rubio wrote on Twitter, "Beijing's degree of espionage aimed at our country has grown considerably more intense & blatant over the previous 5 years.

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican, demanded that Blinken postpone his journey.

In reference to a classified national security briefing for congressional leaders and the Republican and Democratic leaders of the intelligence committees, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated he will ask for a "Gang of Eight" briefing.

In particular, after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's travel to Taiwan in August, which sparked major Chinese military drills close to the self-governing island, relations between China and the United States have deteriorated recently.

Since then, Washington and Beijing have worked to increase communication and stop relations from deteriorating.