US navy searches for remnants of Chinese spy balloon

AFP

The US navy mentioned it’s looking for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down yesterday, in a dramatic spy saga that has additional strained American-Chinese relations.

The US Navy is working to get well the balloon and its payload and the Coast Guard is offering safety for the operation, mentioned General Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command.

A profitable restoration might doubtlessly give the United States perception into China’s spying capabilities, although US officers have downplayed the balloon’s impression on nationwide safety.

A US Air Force fighter jet on Saturday shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina, every week after it first entered US airspace close to Alaska. VanHerck mentioned the incident occurred over US territorial waters.

China protested the response as an “obvious overreaction”, however analysts mentioned that any counter-move by Beijing will probably be finely calibrated to maintain from worsening ties.

Republican lawmakers on Sunday criticized President Joe Biden for ready days to shoot down the balloon because it floated over the United States, accusing him of exhibiting weak point towards China and initially making an attempt to maintain the breach of US airspace undisclosed.

“I think part of it is the president’s reluctance to take any action that would be viewed as provocative or confrontational towards the Chinese communists,” mentioned Republican Tom Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Former President Donald Trump and his former nationwide intelligence director, John Ratcliffe, denied Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s evaluation that comparable balloons had transited the United States throughout his presidency.

“China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did,” Trump wrote on social media web site Truth Social.

But Republican Representative Michael Waltz backed up Austin, telling the Washington Post that the Pentagon had notified Congress that Chinese balloons have been noticed close to the United States a number of occasions throughout Trump’s tenure.

He mentioned balloons had been noticed close to Texas and twice close to Florida, in addition to beforehand recognized sightings close to Hawaii and Guam.

Democrats mentioned Biden’s choice to attend to shoot down the balloon till it had handed over the United States protected civilians from particles crashing to Earth.

“The president called for this to be dealt with in a way that balanced all of the different risks. That’s exactly what happened,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg mentioned on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the Republican criticism as “premature and political”.

“The bottom line here is that shooting down the balloon over water wasn’t just the safest option, but it was the one that maximized our intel gain,” he mentioned at a news convention.

The Pentagon will transient senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on February 15, Schumer mentioned.

Republican Mike Turner, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, mentioned he believed China was utilizing the balloon to determine the best way to counter US nuclear weapons and missile protection programs.

“The president has allowed this to go across our most sensitive sites and wasn’t even going to tell the American public,” Turner mentioned on NBC’s “Meet the Press” programme.

Republican Marco Rubio, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, informed the ABC News programme This Week that China was making an attempt to ship a message that it might enter US airspace. Rubio mentioned he doubted that the balloon’s particles can be of a lot intelligence worth.