Thread by @jseldin

UPDATE: US assesses the high-altitude surveillance balloon is #China's, per a senior defense official

Also, not 1st time #Beijing has done this

"Instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration" per the official

https://twitter.com/jseldin/status/1621288667095482372

Per the senior defense official, in the briefing arranged from the Pentagon, @SecDef "convened senior DoD leadership yesterday, even as he was on the road in the #Philippines"

background: voanews.com/a/philippines-…

At the mtg led by @SecDef, @thejointstaff Chair Gen Mark Milley & @USNorthernCmd's Gen Glen VanHerck strongly recommended NOT to shoot down the #China surveillance balloon "due to the risk to safety & security of ppl on the ground from the possible debris" per sr defense official

"Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective" per the sr US defense official

"But we are taking steps, nevertheless, to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information"

US "also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights, and continue to monitor the balloon as it is over the continental United States" per the senior defense official

re: #China spy balloon

#China spy balloon "large enough to cause damage from the debris field if we downed it over an area" per the senior defense official

"There have been reports of pilots seeing this thing, even though it's pretty high up in the sky. So, you know, it's sizeable"

US has been tracking the #China spy balloon "for some time" per the sr US defense official

"We have had custody of it the entire time it has been over US airspace [since it] entered the continental United States airspace a couple of days ago"

#Chna spy balloon "does not create significant value added over and above what the PRC is likely able to collect through things like satellites in Low Earth Orbit" per the sr defense official

Despite assessment #China spy balloon is unable to get much of value, "we have taken additional mitigation steps" per the sr defense official "...out of an abundance of caution"

Unlike previous incident with #China spy balloons, this balloon is "more persistent than in previous instances" per the sr US defense official

"It is appearing to hang out for a long period of time this time around"

Best US assessment is that #China spy balloon does not pose a threat to US civilian aviation, per the sr US defense official

"We have engaged PRC officials with urgency through multiple channels" abt the spy balloon, per the sr US defense official

"They've been engaged both through their embassy here in Washington and through our embassy in #Beijing"

Senior US defense official confirms F-22s were mobilized at one point due to concern abt the #China spy balloon

Says there was also a ground stop Wednesday at the airport in #Billings, #Montana