US officials have told us that this has happened before. The balloon lingered much longer than in the previous episodes. There was talk about possibly shooting down the balloon, but Pentagon leaders eventually decided that could cause damage on the ground. So basically, they leave it in the air and they use various devices and also deploy jets to keep an eye on it.
On Wednesday, residents in Montana saw a mysterious object — a balloon — hovering and bobbing around in the skies. The enigma brought Americans out to squint at the heavens, caused a diplomatic visit to be canceled and opened a political debate.
How did a balloon end up kindling such tension between Washington and Beijing?
Guest: Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.
Background reading:
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