President Joe Biden, under fire from some lawmakers, said Thursday that he did not see a Chinese spy balloon that was transported to the United States before it was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean, a major security breach. was
Biden, who has tried to maintain ties with China and not let tensions with Beijing spiral out of control, said in a Noticias Telemundo interview that he did not regret dropping the balloon early.
“This is not a major breach,” President Biden said. “I mean, look, it’s totally… it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace. And once it’s in our space, we can do whatever we want with it.
He said US military officials were concerned that shooting it down on the ground could cause the balloon and its components to fall in a populated area.
“This thing was huge. What if it came down and hit a school in a rural area? What if it came down? So I told them as soon as they could shoot it, shoot it. They did a Wise decision. They shot it on the water, they’re fixing most parts, and they’re good,” he said.
President Joe Biden on February 2 ordered the balloon to be shot down after it entered the northwestern United States, but acceded to the US military’s request until it was above water.
The 200-foot-tall (61 m) balloon, along with its electronic gadgetry, was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina in February. 4. The US military is restoring more and more parts.
Some Republicans and Democrats have complained that President Joe Biden should have dropped the balloon sooner. The high-altitude monitoring balloon was first spotted over Alaska in January. 28.