Fox News: US Air Force shot down a Chinese balloon in the sky over South Carolina, searching for the wreckage
The US Air Force shot down a Chinese-owned “spy balloon” in the sky over South Carolina off the country’s southeast coast. This is reported fox news.
Before the destruction of the balloon, US authorities closed part of the airspace over North Carolina and South Carolina due to Pentagon “national security” actions, and fighter jets were sent to the object.
The destruction of the balloon was caught on video. At the moment, the search for the wreckage and their extraction from the water is underway.
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The appearance of the Chinese ball
The appearance of a Chinese intelligence apparatus over the northern part of the United States became known on Friday, February 3. Presumably, the probe flew from the Aleutian Islands through the territory of Canada, after which it settled over the city of Billings, Montana.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said the US military has been monitoring the site for several days. They decided not to shoot down the craft because, according to a senior Pentagon official, the risk of a downed balloon damaging anyone or anyone’s property is “not worth it.”
Amid the balloon situation, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has decided to postpone a visit to Beijing scheduled for next week, a source told ABC News. according to him, the politician does not want to cancel the visit, so as not to “inflate” the situation. In addition, Blinken does not want the topic of the balloon to dominate the negotiations.
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Pentagon statement
After the ball was shot down, the US Department of Defense published an official comment by the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, who stated that the object was destroyed on the orders of US President Joe Biden.
According to him, Biden made the decision to destroy the balloon on the condition that this would avoid the risk to the civilian population. The Department of Defense has developed an option to safely destroy a balloon, while closely monitoring its trajectory and activity.
The device was used to monitor strategic facilities located in the continental United States
At the same time, Biden said that he ordered to shoot down a reconnaissance balloon on Wednesday, February 1, but listened to the advice of the Pentagon and decided not to endanger those on the ground. This is reported RIA News referring to the White House.
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Beijing’s position
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commenting on the February 3 flight of its balloon over the United States, expressed regret due to the fact that the device was “due to force majeure by mistake” on American territory. The department explained that the balloon strongly deviated from the route due to wind and limited self-government capabilities.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also promised to maintain contact with Washington to properly resolve this force majeure incident.
In addition, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urged the United States to stop speculation on the topic of “Chinese spy balloon.”
I want to emphasize that speculation and fanfare until the facts are known is not the proper way to settle [проблемы]
The Chinese side has not yet commented on the destruction of its apparatus by the US military.
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