The United States Armed Forces shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over sensitive military installations in North America on Saturday, the AP news agency reported.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, gave the order to shoot it down last Wednesday, one day after receiving the first report on the device, although the military forces carried out the order this Saturday, when the ship was flying over the sea and its destruction posed no risk to people on the ground.
After the destruction of the device, China expressed through a statement “its strong discontent and protest at the use of force by the United States to attack an unmanned aircraft” and warned that it reserves “the right to give more answers from be necessary”. In turn, he accused Washington of reacting “in a clearly disproportionate manner” and committing a “serious violation of international practices.”
Increasingly strained relationships
The detection of the suspected spy balloon damaged increasingly tense relations between China and the United States.
Due to the conflict, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, canceled a trip to Beijing that was intended to contain the growing tensions between the two countries.
China acknowledged ownership of the device on Friday but said it was a weather balloon that had lost its way.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that it “clearly requested the US to handle the situation in a calm, professional and moderate manner.” But Washington rejected this version and even warned about a second balloon that would fly over Latin America.
“We now believe this is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.
