China Protests Balloon Shoot down
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Chinese Foreign Ministry issues strong protest over the US shooting down its weather balloon that drifted off course Pentagon says it was a spy balloon
US Air Force says it also happened during the Trump administration
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has condemned the US use of force against its “civilian airship” calling on the US to properly handle the incident. According to a Chinese statement Sunday morning.
The Chinese claim to have verified the information and insisted that the balloon entered US airspace by mistake due to force majeure. They say they communicated with Washington several times that this was totally an accident.
The US fighter jets on Saturday shot down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the US with approval of US President Joe Biden, CNN reported on Sunday.
According to a Pentagon statement, US officials first detected the balloon and its payload on January 28 when it entered US airspace near the Aleutian Islands. The balloon traversed Alaska, Canada and re-entered U.S. airspace over Idaho. “President Biden asked the military to present options, and on Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon’s path,” said a senior defense official speaking on background. “Military commanders determined that there was [an] undue risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was overland.”
An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon.
The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. No one was hurt.
Long before the shoot down, US officials took steps to protect against the balloon’s collection of sensitive information, mitigating its intelligence value to the Chinese. The senior defense official said the recovery of the balloon would enable U.S. analysts to examine sensitive Chinese equipment. “I would also note that while we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC surveillance balloon’s collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon’s overflight of US territory was of intelligence value to us,” the official said. “I can’t go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinise the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable.”
“The balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Still, its intrusion into American airspace over several days was an unacceptable violation of US sovereignty.” The official said. adding Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.
The Pentagon then detailed the units involved in the efforts to bring down the Chinese “civilian airship.”
“The F-22 fired the Sidewinder at the balloon from an altitude of 58,000 feet. The balloon at the time was between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.”
“F-15 Eagles flying from Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, supported the F-22, as did tankers from multiple states, including Oregon, Montana, South Carolina and North Carolina. Canadian forces also helped track the overflight of the balloon.”
“The Navy deployed the destroyer USS Oscar Austin, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious landing ship in support of the effort.” The statement concluded.
Source Xinhua/Pentagon Press Office
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