Chinese Balloon Aimed For Hawaii But Was Blown Off Course: US Official

The incident has strained US-China ties even further, prompting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a scheduled visit to Beijing last week.

The US official said that the balloon was blown off course by prevailing winds.

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New Delhi: The Chinese balloon, which the United States shot down after it crossed US territory, originally had a trajectory that would have taken it over Guam and Hawaii, Reuters reported citing a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The balloon was blown off course by prevailing winds, he said.

On February 4, the balloon, which Washington accuses Beijing of using for surveillance and China says was a civilian research vessel, drifted across Alaska's Aleutian Islands, then Canada and the central United States before it was shot down by the U.S. military off the coast of South Carolina.

The incident has strained US-China ties even further, prompting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a scheduled visit to Beijing last week.

This week, China has also countered that US balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times on round-the-world flights since May 2022.

"Without the approval of relevant Chinese authorities, it has illegally flown at least 10 times over China's territorial airspace, including over Xinjiang, Tibet and other provinces," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular daily briefing on Wednesday.

The White House has disputed China’s allegations.

The balloon was tracked by US military and intelligence services since it took off from Hainan Island in China's south coast, Reuters reported citing the Washington Post.

Balloons and other unidentified objects have been previously spotted over Guam, a strategic hub for the US Navy and Air Force in the western Pacific.

It is unclear how much control China retained over the balloon once it veered from its original trajectory.

A US official told Associated Press that the balloon could have been externally manoeuvred or directed to loiter over a specific target, but it is unclear whether Chinese forces did so.

The US military said on Monday it had recovered critical electronics from the balloon as well as large sections of the vessel itself.

(With inputs from agencies)