Arabnews24.ca:Friday 3 February 2023 02:48 PM: Officials at Global Affairs Canada have summoned China's Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu for a meeting in response to a high-altitude surveillance balloon detected in North American airspace.
Global Affairs Canada would not say when this meeting will take place or what exactly will be discussed. In a media statement, a spokesperson said the department "will continue to vigorously express [its] position to Chinese officials through multiple channels."
The U.S. Department of Defence said it is "confident" the surveillance balloon belongs to the People's Republic of China. The balloon was first reported on Thursday but American authorities said they've been tracking it "for some time."
Pentagon officials confirmed the balloon had been over Montana — which is home to the Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of the United States' three nuclear missile silo fields. The balloon is currently over the northwestern U.S.
In an exchange with reporters, Pentagon officials said they decided against shooting down the balloon because of the risk of harming someone or damaging property.
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Defence said the balloon is "well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."
After the balloon was spotted, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he would be postponing his trip to China scheduled for next week.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed the balloon is a civilian airship used for research purposes.
"The airship deviated far from its planned course," says a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure."
On Friday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said it's "outrageous" that "a hostile foreign government had a spy balloon in our airspace."
"We as Canadians should never tolerate espionage by foreign regimes and we should work with our partners in the United States to hold the regime in Beijing accountable for this outrageous intrusion," he said.
Canada's Department of National Defence said in a media statement that the balloon's movements are being tracked by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and that Canadian intelligence agencies are working with their American partners to "safeguard Canada's sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats."
