US Intelligence Officials Investigate Whether Suspected Chinese Spy Balloon Was Diverted by Winds or Deliberately Manuevered by Government

US intelligence officials are currently assessing the possibility that the suspected Chinese spy balloon, which crossed into US airspace, was not deliberately maneuvered by the Chinese government. The officials are examining whether the balloon was instead diverted off course by strong winds.

The National People’s Congress’s Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement Thursday accusing American lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the US passed a measure condemning the balloon’s intrusion. The statement repeated Beijing’s insistence that the balloon was an unmanned civilian weather research airship, a claim the US has dismissed citing its flight route and payload of surveillance equipment.

Initially, officials believed the balloon would head towards Guam, where it would likely try to surveil military sites on the island. However, the balloon instead went north unexpectedly and crossed into Alaska, Canada, and then downward, reentering the US through northern Idaho and moving towards Montana.

US intelligence officials are now attempting to determine whether the balloon’s unexpected route was due to strong winds or if it was deliberately maneuvered by the Chinese government. The investigation is ongoing.