WOW! The Pentagon just dropped a bomb – they detected a Chinese spy balloon hovering over Montana! Just days before Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping, the US government has put China on notice with this sudden discovery. Although President Biden decided not to shoot down the balloon after a recommendation from the Pentagon, the decision to publicize the find is sure to escalate tensions between the two superpowers.

Apparently, this isn’t the first time China has sent spy balloons to the US, but this one has been lingering for longer. However, according to anonymous senior administration officials, the balloon doesn’t pose a military or physical threat and has limited value for intelligence gathering. The Pentagon and Canada’s Department of National Defense are actively tracking the balloon and taking measures to protect sensitive information from foreign threats.

So, what was China looking for in Montana? The state is home to the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three US Air Force bases that operates intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Pentagon sent F-22 fighter jets to track the balloon, but ultimately decided against shooting it down. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III even called a meeting with senior military and defense officials to handle the situation.

Tensions between the US and China have been on the rise, and this discovery just adds fuel to the fire. But, according to Michael P. Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, the spy balloon “did not provide anything that ‘other’ Chinese collections did not already provide them.” Looks like this was just a routine spy mission by China, who has a history of monitoring American diplomatic missions. But with the US government’s quick response, they’re sending a message that they’re not backing down.