A Chinese “spy balloon” shot down by the United States

It was therefore decided to wait until the balloon was above the sea. The Ministry of Defense in Washington describes as unacceptable the Chinese action, which would aim to spy on “strategic places”.

Biden praised the pilots who got the job done. A fighter jet fired a missile, which a defense official said caused no further damage. This is when the ball is touched:

After the discovery last week, shooting down the balloon the size of three buses had already been considered, but Biden took advice against it. The debris could cause damage to the floor. The downed balloon crashed into the ocean east of Myrtle Beach Airport in South Carolina. Crews are on their way to secure the debris, US media report.

The FAA had previously closed three airfields on the East Coast “in support of a Department of Defense national security action.” They were released after the operation.

Biden said of the ball earlier today that “we’ll deal with it,” without giving details. China earlier said the ball was derailed due to force majeure. The country said it regretted the incident. The airship, as the Chinese called it, would be used primarily for meteorological purposes, but according to Washington, the balloon contains all sorts of monitoring equipment.

five continents

Even so, according to experts, the balloon has little more to offer than satellites. According to the United States, the balloon would be part of a fleet that scanned the five continents.

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken postponed his planned visit to China because the issue would determine too much dialogue between the two world powers. China claims to have strictly adhered to international rules. In a phone conversation with Blinken, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed “how to handle unintentional incidents calmly and professionally”.