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China has reacted to the United States’ decision to shoot down its high-altitude balloon, saying that it “reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations.”
US military fighter jets on Saturday shot down the Chinese high-altitude balloon over the Atlantic Ocean.
These are the latest developments.
President Joe Biden on Saturday approved shooting down the balloon, telling CNN that his administration was “gonna take care” of it. On Friday, the Pentagon said the balloon did not pose a military or political threat.
The US military downed the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday.
Navy and Coast Guard vessels are scouring the ocean area for debris.
The remains of the Chinese balloon will be taken to an FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, for analysis by FBI experts and intelligence agencies, officials said.
The Chinese government on Sunday issued a statement expressing its “strong dissatisfaction and protest” against Washington’s actions. “China clearly asked the US to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner,” read a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
“China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reaction.”
The head of China’s weather service has been relieved of his duty, Chinese state media announced on Saturday, in a move seen by some analysts as an attempt to shore up Beijing’s position that the high-altitude balloon flying over the continental US was of civilian nature mainly for meteorological purposes.
Hours after the Chinese balloon was shot down, Colombian Air Force authorities detected an object with “characteristics similar to a balloon” in its airspace on February 3.
More balloon sightings were also reported, including three instances during the Trump administration when China briefly flew a surveillance balloon over the continental United States.
Taiwan voiced its opinion on the matter, saying that the incident “should not be tolerated by the international community.”
Source: CNN
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