China 'regrets' US Air Intrusion As Blinken Visit In Balance

China voiced regret Friday for an "unintentional" breach of US airspace by what it said was a civilian airship but the Pentagon called a spy balloon with a long-planned Beijing visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken hanging in the balance

Washington, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Feb, 2023 ) :China voiced regret Friday for an "unintentional" breach of US airspace by what it said was a civilian airship but the Pentagon called a spy balloon with a long-planned Beijing visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken hanging in the balance.

The Pentagon said Thursday it was tracking the balloon which flew far above the western state of Montana and decided for safety reasons not to shoot it down.

After initially hesitating to say that the object was Chinese, Beijing in a late-night statement admitted ownership, saying it was an airship that veered off course due to the winds.

"The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes," said the statement attributed to a foreign ministry spokesperson.

"The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure," it said, using the legal term for an act outside of human control.

"The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation." The statement comes hours before Blinken was expected to leave for Beijing on the first trip by the top US diplomat to the rising adversary in more than five years.

The State Department had not officially announced the trip and did not immediately confirm whether he would go ahead.

Lawmakers from the rival Republican Party quickly pounced on the incident, casting President Joe Biden -- who has largely preserved and at times expanded his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's hawkish policies on China -- as weak.