The US forces shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had been flying over the country for days. The information is corroborated by the Associated Press, which says the balloon was shot down off South Carolina’s Atlantic coast after flying over military sites considered sensitive.
The operation took place this Saturday, with the balloon dropping into the Atlantic Ocean, allowing US troops to recover the wreckage. Hours earlier, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Coast Guard banned flights to and from three airports in the states of North and South Carolina while cleaning up the area where the balloon – which flew at 60,000 feet and was to be used – was cleared. size of three buses – it would eventually fall.
The US president had already said publicly that the country would “handle the matter”. Television footage shows the balloon being shot down and then falling towards the water. There are also reports of aircraft flying over the area and ships being put into the water to carry out the salvage operation.
The presence in the North American skies of the balloon, which the Chinese said was meteorological and had gone off course, prompted the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to postpone the official visit to Beijing, which was due to begin this Sunday.
China’s foreign ministry criticized the fact that “some politicians and media in the US used the incident as a pretext to attack and smear China”. A second balloon, meanwhile, was seen over Latin America, more specifically Costa Rica.
The case puts a brake on the rapprochement between Washington and Beijing, which started in November during the meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali. Relations between the two countries deteriorated amid the diplomatic crisis that followed the visit of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August. And the future doesn’t look bright, especially given that the Democrat’s successor, Republican Kevin McCarthy, is also reportedly planning a visit to the island – which China considers a rebel province and whose sovereignty doesn’t preclude restoration by force .
The US considers China to be the main long-term threat to its national security, but wants to continue dialogue to prevent rivalries (economic and military) from bringing the two countries and the world into conflict. According to Reuters, expectations for Blinken’s trip, the first by a US secretary of state to China since 2018, were not very high. But he hoped to address the issue of US citizens Washington says are being unfairly detained in China and push for the flow of fentanyl, an opioid that is causing a public health crisis in the US, to be stopped.
Blinken, who considers the Chinese balloon’s passage over US territory to be “a clear violation of sovereignty” and “an irresponsible act,” said he was available to visit Beijing when conditions are right. But after the balloon controversy, where Democrats were pressured by Republicans to take a stronger stance against China, it will be difficult to reschedule the meeting.
In a statement sent after Blinken announced the postponement of the visit, China’s foreign ministry reiterated that Beijing “has never violated the territory or airspace of any sovereign country.” The authorities also defended the importance of keeping communication channels open, “especially dealing with unexpected situations in a calm and reliable manner”. The statement also indicated that Beijing “will not accept business cycles or unwarranted exaggeration”, and accused some US politicians and media outlets of taking the opportunity to launch a smear campaign against China.
This Saturday, the balloon continued its journey through US airspace, having flown over Montana – one of the places where there are nuclear missile silos. It was heading southwest and had been discovered over Kansas, Missouri and North Carolina until it reached the Atlantic Ocean. At that point, authorities shot down the balloon, hoping to salvage the wreckage.
With Rui Miguel Godinho
Source: DN
