(Washington) A fighter plane shot down the Chinese balloon on Saturday, which had been flying over the United States for several days.
The balloon, which the Pentagon claims was a spy balloon, was shot down by the US military off the US east coast in response to an ‘unacceptable violation’ of US sovereignty , the Department of Defense said.
On videos broadcast by television channels, the ball seemed to fall vertically.
Shortly before, air traffic had been suspended at three airports in the southeastern United States as a “national security” measure, announced the American civil aviation regulator (FAA). It was one airport in North Carolina and two in South Carolina.
On Saturday morning, US President Joe Biden said that the United States would “deal” with this ball.
PHOTO ELIZABETH FRANZ, REUTERS
Joe Biden answered questions from reporters upon his arrival at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York.
Then in the early afternoon, Mr. Biden, to whom journalists asked if he was going to give the order to shoot down the ball, had replied by simply giving a thumbs up.
This affair, which has cast a chill over relations between Washington and Beijing, has caused the postponement of a visit by the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken to China.
Beijing acknowledged that it was indeed a device from China, but assured that it was a “civilian aircraft, used for research purposes, mainly meteorological”.
The machine would have “deviated from its trajectory”, added a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing the “regrets” of his country for this “involuntary” violation of American airspace.
China has played down the cancellation of a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after the discovery of the balloon, believed to be monitoring US military sites, troubled diplomatic relations between the two countries, saying neither side had officially announced such a plan.
“In reality, the United States and China have never announced a visit, if the United States makes such an announcement, it concerns them, and we respect that,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Saturday morning.
Mr Blinken was due to travel to Beijing on Sunday to reduce US-China tensions. The trip was very publicized, after the meeting of the leaders of the countries last November in Indonesia. But the United States abruptly called off the event after the balloon was found, despite assurances from China that it was simply a weather research device that veered off course.
Experts have judged this explanation to be technically possible.
The Pentagon rejected China’s claim that the balloon is not used for surveillance and has only limited navigation capability.
The Pentagon also reported a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now believe this is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said in a statement.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.
On Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry again stressed that the path of the balloon was beyond its control and urged the United States not to “defame” it.