Biden made first statements about Chinese balloon in the sky
2023.02.04 15:39
Biden made first statements about Chinese balloon in the sky
By Tiffany Smith
Budrigannews.com – As flights were halted around South Carolina as part of a “national security effort,” President Joe Biden stated on Saturday that the United States is “going to take care of” a suspected Chinese spy balloon that has been tracked throughout the country.
In response to a question about whether the United States would shoot down the high-altitude surveillance balloon, which has been flying across the country in what Washington describes as a “clear violation” of the United States’ sovereignty, Biden made the remark.
Biden gave reporters a thumbs up when asked if the balloon would be shot down. According to officials, military leaders had advised against shooting down the balloon this week due to the possibility of debris falling, but it is now heading for open water.
The president, who was in Syracuse for a family event, had never mentioned the balloon before.
Because of a “national security effort,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted departures and arrivals at three airports on Saturday, including Myrtle Beach International Airport in South Carolina.
In an effort to clear airspace around the coast of South Carolina, the FAA issued a temporary flight restriction. According to a document that was made available by the FAA, the notice prohibited flights to more than 260 square kilometers and more than 100 square miles, mostly above the Atlantic Ocean.
The notice said that the military could use deadly force if planes broke the rules and didn’t leave when told to.
Two U.S. military jets flying alongside the suspected spy balloon were visible to a Reuters photographer in the Myrtle Beach area.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was forced to postpone a trip to China this week that was scheduled to begin on Friday due to the alleged Chinese spy balloon.
The decision to postpone Blinken’s trip, which Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to in November, is a blow to those who saw it as an opportunity to fix an increasingly tense relationship between the two countries. The most recent time a US secretary of state visited was in 2017.
China wants a stable relationship with the United States so it can focus on its economy, which has been harmed by the zero-COVID policy and is being ignored by foreign investors who are concerned about what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.
Since Wednesday’s sighting over Montana, the balloon has traversed the entire United States.
An “airship” used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes had entered U.S. airspace, which China regretted.
Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said that the “airship’s” flight over the United States was an accident caused by force majeure and that American politicians and media were using the situation to discredit Beijing.
Friday, the Pentagon said that another Chinese balloon was seen over Latin America, but did not specify where.
