Beijing expressed its "
strong dissatisfaction
" on Sunday after the United States shot down the Chinese balloon which had been flying over its soil for several days, and said it "
reserves the right
" to retaliate.
The operation carried out on Saturday by an F-22 fighter jet took place "
over water off the coast of South Carolina, in American airspace
", the Minister of State said in a press release. US Defense, Lloyd Austin.
He stressed that it was carried out in response to an “
unacceptable violation
” of American “
sovereignty
”.
"
China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protests against the use of force by the United States
," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Washington "
clearly overreacted
" and "
seriously violated international practices
," according to the same source.
The Pentagon says it was a spy balloon.
The balloon "
was used by the People's Republic of China in an attempt to monitor strategic sites
" in the United States, Lloyd Austin said.
Read also“Chinese trial balloon”
Joe Biden congratulated the pilots who carried out "
successfully
" this delicate operation.
He said he had given the order on Wednesday to shoot down the balloon "
as soon as possible
", but that the Pentagon wanted to wait "
for the safest place to do
so" in order to avoid any damage to the ground when the balloon fell. any debris.
The move was also welcomed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“
Together (…) we will continue to protect and defend ourselves
,” he said in a tweet on Saturday.
A "civilian aircraft", according to Beijing
Recovery operations, which may involve divers, were now underway.
The debris is in shallow water, "
that's going to make it pretty easy
," a senior military official said.
On videos broadcast by television channels on Saturday, the ball appeared to fall vertically after an impact.
At the time of being shot down, the balloon was about 18 kilometers above sea level and 11 kilometers from the coast, according to Pentagon officials.
Shortly before, air traffic had been suspended at three airports in the southeastern United States as a “
national security
” measure , the American civil aviation regulator (FAA) announced.
It was one airport in North Carolina and two in South Carolina.
Traffic resumed shortly after the operation ended.
Read alsoBeijing struggles to appease its rivalry with Washington
According to Pentagon officials, the balloon first entered US airspace on January 28 over Alaska, before entering Canada on January 30, then re-entering airspace. American in Idaho, in the northwestern United States, on January 31, i.e. Tuesday.
The Chinese balloon just after being hit by the US Air Force.
RANDALL HILL/REUTERS
Beijing acknowledged that the aircraft had come from China, but assured that it was a “
civilian aircraft, used for research purposes, mainly meteorological
”.
It would have “
deviated from its trajectory
”, added a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing the “
regrets ” of his country for this “
involuntary
” violation
of American airspace.
On Friday, the Pentagon said a second Chinese balloon had been spotted over Latin America.
“
Chinese surveillance balloons briefly passed over the United States at least three times during the previous administration, and once at the beginning of this administration as far as we know, but never for this long
,” said an official on Saturday. senior US official
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/FIJVMOBHZRWVDBKS3NAQ2M4JRE.jpg)
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/EXJQILQR5QI7OMVRTERD7AEZAU.jpg)
