The US fired down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina today, believing it was being used for surveillance. President Joe Biden of the United States claimed he has directed the Pentagon to shoot down the balloon “as soon as feasible.”
Furthermore, the US President stated that the Pentagon determined that the optimal time to fire down the Chinese balloon would be when it was over water, within a 12-mile radius. This was done to protect anyone on the ground.
Notably, the US chose earlier this week not to shoot down a Chinese balloon over Montana because it worried about harming civilians on the ground.
Biden stated that it was his decision to deflate the balloon, despite the fact that his national security team advised him to wait for the safest location.
According to a senior US military official, one F-22 fighter plane from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia fired the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT) with a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking air-to-air missile. The mission included multiple fighters and refueling aircraft.
US fighter planes assigned to US Northern Command successfully shot down the balloon
According to a statement issued by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Saturday (local time), US fighter planes assigned to US Northern Command successfully shot down a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon above the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace. He said that the balloon used by China to spy on vital facilities in the mainland United States was shot down above US territorial seas.
He further said, “The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.”
Prior to the shootdown, the US government prohibited flights into and out of three regional airports: Wilmington, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, citing a covert “national security endeavor” at the time. Flights were eventually resumed.
China expressed its deep objection and displeasure with the United States
China expressed its deep objection and displeasure with the United States’ use of force to strike its airship, according to China’s foreign ministry on Sunday.
In a statement, Beijing’s foreign ministry criticized “the use of force by the United States to attack the unmanned civilian airship”, adding that it will “reserve the right to make further necessary responses”. The US was “clearly overreacting and seriously violating international practice,” according to China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry had previously stated that the balloon had crossed US airspace by accident. The existence of the balloon on US territory, however, was deemed a “clear violation” of US sovereignty and international law by the US State Department.
Following the discovery of the balloon, the United States postponed Antony Blinken’s rare visit to China, citing growing tensions between the two countries. Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit Beijing early next week, the first such trip by a senior US official in five years. Despite widespread media coverage, the trip was not formally disclosed. The visit comes after Biden and Xi committed in Bali in November to work together to improve the US-China relationship.