China “reserves the right” to respond to the US decision, which “seriously violates international practices”.
AFP Pair
PÉkin expressed his “strong dissatisfaction” on Sunday after the United States shot down the Chinese balloon which had been flying over their soil for several days, and said he “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, adding that it “reserved the right” to retaliate. Washington “clearly overreacted” and “seriously violated international practices,” according to the same source.
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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, Austin said.
Mr. 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.
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.
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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.
