Key takeaways:
- The US successfully brought down a high altitude surveillance balloon belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina.
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the Chinese leader for the suspected spy balloon.
- The US is taking the matter seriously and is committed to protecting its airspace from foreign incursions.
On Saturday, the United States successfully brought down a high altitude surveillance balloon belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina. The US rejected China’s claims that the balloon entered US airspace by accident, calling it a “civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the Chinese leader for the suspected spy balloon, saying in a statement, “I strongly condemn President Xi’s brazen incursion into American airspace and I commend President Biden’s leadership in taking down the Chinese balloon over water to ensure safety for all Americans.”
The action came a couple of hours after President Joe Biden responded to a reporter who asked whether the U.S. would shoot down the balloon. “We’re gonna take care of it,” Biden said.
The U.S. will attempt to recover the debris of the balloon, according to a U.S. official. It is not yet known what the balloon was doing in US airspace, but the incident has raised concerns about the potential for Chinese espionage.
The US government has yet to comment on the incident, but it is clear that the US is taking the matter seriously and is committed to protecting its airspace from foreign incursions.
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