The Department of National Defense of Canada is monitoring the situation with a reconnaissance balloon detected over US territory. The department announced this on February 2.
It is assumed that the balloon was launched by the PRC. The US administration has already contacted Beijing through its diplomats and notified the local authorities of their readiness to do everything necessary to protect citizens, territory and confidential information.
“North American Joint Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Canadian Forces, Canadian Department of National Defense and other partners are assessing the situation and working closely together. We are in constant contact with our American partners as the situation develops,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
The agency said that there is no security threat to Canadian residents, the country’s authorities are taking steps to ensure the safety of their airspace, including monitoring a potential second incident.
On February 2, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that a balloon flying over the United States did not pose a danger to the public. As representatives of the defense department noted, it is not yet planned to shoot it down for security reasons.
At the same time, a member of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Marjorie Taylor Green, called on the head of state, Joe Biden, to shoot down the observation balloon as soon as possible. She also noted that former US President Donald Trump would not allow anything like this.
