The skies over the United States were abuzz with activity this week, as a mysterious Chinese spy balloon floated across the country, prompting the U.S. military to take action. On Saturday, the U.S. military shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast, after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. President Joe Biden had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday, and the spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering what was going on.
The giant white orb was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. About 2:39 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly seven miles.
The balloon had entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it. The balloon was spotted Thursday over Montana, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos.
The Chinese government has claimed that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability. China has also threatened repercussions for the U.S. action, and reserved the right to “take further actions in response.”
Republicans were critical of Biden’s response, and questioned the decision-making process. China has also denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America.
The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions. The U.S. military was able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling.
This week, the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast. The balloon had traversed sensitive military sites across North America, prompting President Joe Biden to issue the order to bring it down. The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering what was going on. The balloon had entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research, while the Pentagon has rejected that out of hand. Republicans were critical of Biden’s response, and questioned the decision-making process. The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years.
Source: www.breitbart.com