U.S. Was Tracking Chinese Spy Balloon From Launch: Report

The United States military may have known about the Chinese spy balloon long before it floated into U.S. airspace above Montana. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. was tracking the balloon after it launched from Hainan Island near China's south coast.

Officials believed the balloon was heading toward the U.S. territory of Guam before it unexpectedly changed course. The balloon instead floated over the Aleutian Islands and continued east over Canada. While flying above Canadian airspace, heavy winds pushed the balloon south, causing it to cross into the United States over Idaho.

The balloon continued to fly across the U.S. until February 4, when it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the Carolinas.

The new report seems to bolster China's claims that the balloon was blown off-course and inadvertently crossed into U.S. airspace. However, state Department Spokesman Ned Price said it doesn't matter whether the spy balloon entered the United States intentionally or unintentionally.

"In some ways, it doesn't matter, and I'm not going to opine on what the PRC (People's Republic of China) may or may not have intended, but in key ways, it doesn't matter. It's completely immaterial. It's immaterial because this was a high-altitude surveillance balloon that did violate our airspace. It did violate international law," Price said.