China Says Balloon Seen Over US is Civilian Airship That Blew Off Course

China's Foreign Ministry has explained that the balloon is used for "research purposes" and that it deviated from its planned course due to winds.

Chinese authorities have revealed that the balloon recently spotted in US airspace did originate in China, but that it is not some sort of surveillance craft as the US military initially suspected.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson explained in a statement that the object in question is merely a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes."

"Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course," the statement said. "The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure."

On Thursday, the US military detected what appeared to be a high altitude surveillance balloon moving through United States airspace, high above the commercial air traffic.

One US defense official told media the United States has "very high confidence" that the balloon arrived from China and was flying over sensitive sites in the US to collect information.

The Pentagon, however, ultimately decided against shooting down the balloon due to concerns about possibly hurting people on the ground.