Retail
  • Home
  • News
  • 2023 election
  • Governance
  • National Assembly
  • Presidency
  • Foreign
  • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Premium Politics
No Result
View All Result
Home Foreign

US fighter jet downs China’s spy balloon

by Agency Report
February 4, 2023
in Foreign
Reading Time: 2 mins read
US fighter jet downs China's spy balloon

US President Joe Biden arrives at Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown, Maryland, on February 4, 2023. - Biden on Saturday congratulated fighter pilots for taking down a Chinese spy balloon off the east coast after it spent several days flying over the US. "They successfully took it down. And I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden told reporters in Maryland. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)

0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A US fighter jet on Saturday shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, the Pentagon said, over what it called Beijing’s “unacceptable violation” of US sovereignty.

President Joe Biden congratulated fighter pilots for taking down the balloon in US airspace and above US territorial waters, after it spent days flying over the country.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Joe Biden falls at US Air Force Academy graduation

Osinbajo to lead Commonwealth observers in Sierra Leone election

“They successfully took it down. And I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” Biden told reporters in Maryland.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called the operation a “deliberate and lawful action” that came in response to “the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he said referring to China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

The action took place Saturday afternoon after three southeastern airports were temporarily shut down over what the Federal Aviation Administration called a “national security effort.”

In footage shown on US television networks, the balloon appeared to be falling down vertically.

US officials were initially reluctant to shoot down the device, fearing it could hurt people and damage property on the ground.

But asked about the incident earlier Saturday, Biden promised “to take care” of it.

The controversy erupted Thursday, when American officials said they were tracking a large Chinese “surveillance balloon” in US skies.

That led Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday to scrap a rare trip to Beijing.

After initial hesitation, Beijing admitted ownership of the “airship,” but said it was a weather balloon that had been blown off course, adding that it regretted the situation.

“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” it said, using the legal term for an act outside of human control.

The balloon had flown over parts of the northwestern United States, including the state of Montana, that are home to sensitive airbases and strategic nuclear missiles in underground silos, adding to concerns.

US media reported early Saturday that the balloon was spotted over both North and South Carolina.

A sheriff in York County, South Carolina, warned locals not to try to shoot the craft down.

“Yes, there are reports that the Chinese balloon is flying over our area at the moment,” said a post on the Twitter account of Sheriff Kevin Tolson.

“It’s flying at 60,000+ feet. Don’t try to shoot it!! Your rifle rounds WILL NOT reach it. Be responsible. What goes up will come down, including your bullets.”

The balloon was reportedly flying at an altitude well above levels used by commercial airliners, though some private pilots said on social media that it was uncomfortably close.

Another suspected Chinese spy balloon was seen over Latin America, the Pentagon said Friday, without providing specifics as to its location.

AFP

ShareTweetSend
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

2023: Support Obi, we’ll forgive you, Adebanjo tells Tinubu

Next Post

AAC demands immediate resolution to naira, fuel crises

Related Posts

Joe Biden falls
Foreign

Joe Biden falls at US Air Force Academy graduation

June 1, 2023
Yemi Osinbajo
Foreign

Osinbajo to lead Commonwealth observers in Sierra Leone election

May 25, 2023
Donald Trump
Foreign

Trump to make virtual court appearance in hush money case

May 23, 2023
Volodymyr Zelensky
Foreign

F-16 jets: Zelensky arrives Japan for G7 summit

May 20, 2023
Nigerian elected first black mayor of Colorado Springs
Foreign

Nigerian elected first black mayor of Colorado Springs

May 17, 2023
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Foreign

Tinubu receives envoy from Kenyan president

May 7, 2023
Next Post
AAC demands immediate resolution to naira, fuel crises

AAC demands immediate resolution to naira, fuel crises

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News

INEC

INEC fixes Nov 14 for Kogi, Bayelsa, Imo gov elections 

by Kazeem Owoseni
June 6, 2023

Peter Obi

Peter Obi backs Tinubu on fuel subsidy removal

by Alade Abayomi Adeleke
June 6, 2023

Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Court dismisses 25% FCT votes case against Tinubu

by Alade Abayomi Adeleke
June 6, 2023

Kogi state House of Assembly

Yusuf Umar emerges Kogi Assembly speaker

by Alade Abayomi Adeleke
June 6, 2023

Premium Politics

© 2023 Premium Politics

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • News
  • 2023 election
  • Governance
  • National Assembly
  • Presidency
  • Foreign
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • 2023 election
  • Governance
  • National Assembly
  • Presidency
  • Foreign
  • Privacy Policy

© 2023 Premium Politics

Go to mobile version