Enraged China gave it’s over the top reaction to Pentagon’s decision to shoot down a suspected spy balloon, which was spotted flying over North America. It has threatened the US with repercussions and accused it of “clearly overreacting and seriously violating international practice”.
China blasts Pentagon’s decision to shoot down suspected spy balloon deployed by China
Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement
“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and protests against the use of force by the United States to attack the unmanned civilian airship,”
“reserve the right to make further necessary responses.”
The Balloon incident has become the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing and the balloon was shot down after it flew over sensitive military sites across North America.
As per emerging reports US President Joe Biden had vowed to “take care” of the suspected spy device.
Meanwhile an intensive operation was underway in US territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover the debris form the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses.
USA: Spy Balloon used by China for Surveillance purposes
Agencies quoted US President Joe Biden as saying,
“We successfully took it down, and I want to complement our aviators who did it,”
Defense Secretary LIoyd Austin was the first to announce the shootdown and stated that balloon was being used by China
“in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.”
The FAA briefly shut down airspace above the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Wilmington, North Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, before the balloon was shot down. Due to the flight limitations, the FAA redirected air traffic away from the area and issued a delay warning.
A small explosion was seen on television, then the balloon descended toward the lake. Ships were positioned in the ocean to mount the recovery attempt, while US military jets were seen flying nearby.
The goal of the operation was for officials to recover as much of the wreckage as they could before it sank into the water. The size of any debris field was already predicted by the Pentagon.
The balloon was sighted over Montana, which is home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of the country’s three nuclear missile silo fields.
Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America
“We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,”
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