China Condemns U.S. Decision to Shoot Down Spy Balloon
The Chinese government said the downing of the “civilian” aircraft was an “excessive reaction,” and that it “retains the right to respond further.”
WASHINGTON — The United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon with a missile on Saturday after it had spent the last week traversing the country. The downing of the balloon was an explosive end to a drama that had caused a diplomatic crisis between the world’s two great powers.
President Biden ordered the U.S. military to shoot the surveillance craft down after it had meandered across the United States for about a week.
Here’s the latest:
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The Chinese foreign ministry declared its “strong discontent and protest” at Washington’s decision to shoot down the balloon, claiming that it was a civilian aircraft that had accidentally hovered into the United States. “China will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise involved, and retains the right to respond further,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
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A senior official in the Biden Administration responded that the aircraft was in fact a surveillance balloon that was purposely flown over sensitive military sites in the United States and Canada. The official said the Beijing government could control the balloon, one in a fleet of similar aircraft the Chinese have deployed in recent years for surveillance operations.
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Two fighter jets from Langley Air Force Base attacked the balloon at 2:39 p.m., some six miles off the coast of South Carolina. One of the F-22 fighters fired a Sidewinder air-to-air missile, downing the balloon, which was flying at an altitude of between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.
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The debris fell into 47 feet of water, and the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard were trying to recover it, officials said
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Republicans were quick to criticize the Biden administration, saying the president had waited too long to shoot down the balloon and had shown weakness in his handling of the crisis.Mr. Biden and his aides argued the downing the balloon over populated areas would have created a dangerous rain of debris. In addition, they have said the United States picked up valuable intelligence monitoring the balloon’s equipment before it was destroyed.
