Chinese Spy Balloon
The United States Saturday shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had spent the past few days traversing over the country.
The controversy erupted on Thursday when US officials said they were tracking a large Chinese surveillance balloon in US skies.
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Beijing admitted ownership of the airship but said it was a weather balloon that had been blown off course.
“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.
A senior defence official said was the military’s first chance to take on the balloon in a way that would not pose a threat to the safety of Americans while still allowing authorities to collect the fallen debris from US territorial waters.
US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin called the operation a “deliberate and lawful action” that came in response to China’s “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”.
Also read: Canada Confirms Sighting Of Chinese Spy Balloon After United States
United States President’s statement
President Joe Biden, who earlier Saturday had promised to take care of the balloon, congratulated the fighter pilots involved.
“They successfully took it down. And I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” Biden told media in Maryland.
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