China and Taiwan are responding after U.S. forces shot down a Chinese reconnaissance balloon off the coast of North Carolina on Saturday.
president Joe Biden He ordered the balloon the size of three buses to be shot down “as soon as possible”, which meant postponing the operation until the balloon was safely above the water.
A balloon intelligence-gathering operation is underway, but the Pentagon confirmed Friday that a second Chinese balloon had been spotted over Latin America. More precisely, it is moving southeast over Venezuela, passing through the Panama Canal.
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We are now determining that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brig said.General Patrick Ryder told CNN.
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China reacts to balloon takedown: Regarding the US-based balloon, China said the airship unintentionally entered US airspace “due to force majeure” and called the downing of the balloon a “clear overreaction.”
Ryder told reporters that the balloon did in fact “have the ability to be piloted” and denied China’s claims that it was for “civilian research” purposes.
China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday, “China resolutely defends the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise, and at the same time reserves the right to take further actions accordingly.”
As for the reaction from other countries, Taiwan, which has repeatedly flown Chinese balloons over its own territory, said that such actions violate international law, violate other countries’ airspace, and violate treaties. He said the incident “should not be tolerated by the civilized international community.” sovereignty.
“The Communist Party of China should immediately stop this kind of behavior that invades other countries and causes regional instability,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
In the United States, Republican lawmakers have called on the Biden administration to act quickly. Sen. Marco Rubio A member of the Senate Intelligence Committee (R-Florida) told ABC News that China sent balloons as a “message” and that communists see the US as “declining.”
On the other hand, lawmakers. Nicole Mariotakis (R-NY) told the New York Post, “Chinese Communist Party surveillance balloons violate international law and threaten our homeland.”
Third Chinese Balloon: According to The Washington Post, an unnamed source said a third balloon was in operation at another location, which has yet to be revealed.
Authorities don’t know exactly what the balloons do, only that they have “sophisticated communications equipment.”
China had said it was collecting weather data when its first balloon blew off course. Nevertheless, it was spotted in Montana flying over a US military base with a nuclear missile his silo.
According to The New York Times, the Pentagon has investigated 366 unexplained incidents since 2021 and determined 163 to be ballooning.
Additionally, US defense officials say three Chinese spy balloons entered US airspace during the former president’s inauguration. donald trump’s Management, CNN Report.
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