Canada Reports 'Potential Second Incident' With Massive Chinese Balloon

By Jay Clemons    |   Friday, 03 February 2023 

The Canadian Armed Forces are reportedly monitoring a "potential second incident" related to the massive Chinese balloon that has been hovering over American airspace this week.

In a statement Thursday, Canada's military command reiterated that "Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident."

According to Breitbart News, Canadian officials have yet to clarify whether a second Chinese balloon had been identified.

On Friday, Canada's version of the Globe and Mail reported the Canadian government summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest the balloon's presence in that country's airspace.

Specifically, the Globe and Mail talked to experts who believe the same Chinese balloon that was last seen over the American state of Montana had spent "significant time" in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The Biden administration and Pentagon opted not to destroy the balloon — which reportedly is the size of three large buses — out of concern for the citizens on the ground.

China's foreign ministry tried to minimize the incident by claiming the balloon was a civilian research "airship," primarily used for gathering weather data.

"The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure," the ministry said in a statement, while referring to an event beyond the control of the involved parties.

Also, China's ministry office said it would continue to communicate with U.S. officials, as a means of properly handling "this unexpected situation."

On Thursday, a U.S. Pentagon official said the Chinese balloon was "currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground."

The balloon's reported altitude was 60,000 feet, a strata that would have given the U.S. the legal right to capture or ground the balloon, if it had chosen that route.