U.S. military tracking ANOTHER balloon: Pentagon scrambles jets to investigate high-altitude object of ‘unknown origin’ over Colorado
• The military dispatched jets to investigate
• It was not deemed to be a threat
• Chinese spy balloon last year sparked a diplomatic incident with China
The U.S. military is tracking yet another balloon over the western United States, a year after a Chinese spy balloon provoked a diplomatic crisis.
The military dispatched aircraft to investigate the situation, CBS news reported, adding that it has not been determined to be a threat.
Like the spy balloon that entered U.S. airspace and slowly made its way across the U.S., the current balloon was spotted in Colorado.
The spy balloon that entered U.S. airspace over Alaska in January eventually flew over a U.S. military base in Montana. It wasn’t until it was over the Atlantic that the military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina, citing security risks of downing it over land.
That in turn provoked Beijing, which vowed countermeasures, adding yet another strain a relationship already battered by trade practices, tariffs, Taiwan, human rights, and China’s ties with Russia before President Vladimir Putin launched his Ukraine invasion.
Republicans criticized President Joe Biden for not having it downed sooner. The incident prompted a period when the military shot down other unidentified objects.
The earlier incident forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned trip to China while criticizing it as an ‘irresponsible act.’