World

United States Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Over Atlantic

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.

Also read: United States: Chinese Spy Balloon Spotted Surveilling Nuclear Weapons Sites

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.

Also read: Societal Anxieties: Technology Could Create As Well As Destroy The Beautiful World

Spriha Rai

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