The US Military has confirmed the presence of a high-altitude balloon flying over America amid growing concerns over Chinese surveillance.
A balloon of unidentified origin is currently flying over the western United States, however officials do not consider it to be a threat.
The appearance of the balloon comes just over a year after a US fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina dramatically shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon.
The spy balloon was reportedly collecting intelligence over America.
Joe Biden was forced to step in last year
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Earlier in the day, one official said the balloon was over Colorado. Its presence prompted enough concern that the military sent an aircraft to investigate, reports CBS News.
Last year, the Chinese foreign ministry claimed that the balloon was meant to collect weather data and had "deviated far from its planned course" due to high winds.
The US military ultimately shot it down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4 and recovered the wreckage.
The spy balloon became a political headache for President Biden, who faced criticism from Republicans over his decision to allow it to transit over the US for nearly a week before ordering it shot down.
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Chinese spy balloon flies above in Charlotte NC
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The balloon's presence put the US military on high alert for other objects in airspace. However, the Pentagon eventually concluded the balloon did not transmit information back to China.
Fighter jets shot down several unidentified objects over the US and Canada over the following weeks.
The military couldn't find any debris from those objects and the search was called off due to dangerous weather conditions.
The US military has not issued a public statement on the current high-altitude balloon.
Last year, the Chinese spy balloon became a major diplomatic point of contention between the US and China, prompting Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to Beijing in February 2023.
Blinken eventually made the trip in June to try to soothe rising tensions over a number of issues, including the balloon and the Chinese military's assertiveness in the South China Sea.
