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Thursday, February 9, 2023
On Saturday, the US Air Force shot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, accusing it of surveillance; the craft had been in US airspace since February 1.
On Friday, US Department of Defense Press Secretary and Brigadier General Patrick S. Ryder said the balloon had changed course and was floating eastward at about 60,000 feet (18,300 m) above the central United States and demonstrating a capability to maneuver. “It was traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” he explained.
US officials advised US President Joe Biden to wait until the balloon was over the ocean, where debris would not threaten civilians on the ground. He authorized the downing of the balloon on Saturday; emerging from the presidential jet, Air Force One en route to the presidential retreat, Maryland’s Camp David, Biden said, “They successfully took it down and I want to congratulate our aviators who did it”.
The Chinese foreign ministry declared it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the US for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.” Later, the Chinese defense ministry echoed the statement.
Before the balloon was taken down, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his trip to China on Friday. The announcement has been made by US State department spokesperson, citing the same reason. The spokesperson said that Blinken would seek to travel to China “when conditions allow.” Blinken was scheduled to depart for Beijing on Friday night, where both governments intended to discuss reinforcing communications and easing tensions between the two countries. In a phone call with Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, Blinken said that sending the balloon over the U.S. was a “violation of our sovereignty”. “This is an unacceptable as well as an irresponsible action”, he said to Yi.
On Friday before the shootdown, China acknowledged the balloon and claimed that it was their “civilian airship”, which was used mainly for meteorological research and had deviated from its planned course because of bad weather. However, the U.S. Defense Department denied their claims and described the balloon as an “intelligence-gathering balloon.”
The US Department of Defense also confirmed reports of a second balloon flying across the Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Ryder said on Saturday. Officials said the balloons belonged to China, which used them for surveillance, and they could be maneuvered remotely through small motors and propellers. China did not immediately respond to the reports of another balloon.
US officials also said that this was not the first time a “spy balloon” has crossed over US airspace in recent years. At least three balloons were seen crossing over American airspace during the Trump administration, but for shorter durations.