STORY: A suspected Chinese espionage balloon sighted over the United States has put a damper on efforts by the two major powers to improve relations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his imminent trip to the People’s Republic on Friday. “The presence of the surveillance balloon in US airspace is a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law,” Blinken said. The Beijing Foreign Ministry said it was a civilian research balloon, including for meteorological purposes, that had drifted into US airspace. According to the US Department of Defense, however, the balloon recently changed course, which raised doubts about the Chinese account. The US military said the balloon was manoeuvrable, moving east at an altitude of around 18 kilometers. When asked if the public wouldn’t need to know the exact location, a Pentagon spokesman said. “The public can safely look up and see where the balloon is.” This Montana miner couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked up at the sky on Friday. “I thought it looked like the moon at first, but then I saw that the moon was on the right side of the sky. So it definitely wasn’t the moon.” Former US President Donald Trump called for the balloon to be launched on his social media platform. According to government circles, the US military had also considered this, but then advised against it to avoid danger from falling debris. The danger with regard to secret service knowledge is meanwhile assessed as low in the USA. The missile is of limited value in this regard, a US government official said.