Afimag.com –
The United States President, Mr.Joe Biden, has explained that he did not perceive a Chinese spy balloon that transited the United States before it was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean to have been a major security breach.
Biden, who has come under attack by some lawmakers sought to sustain touches with China to avoid anxieties with Beijing of getting out of control, added that he did not regret shooting down the balloon sooner.
“It’s not a major breach,” Biden said. “I mean, look, it’s totally … it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it.”
He said U.S. military officials were nervous by shooting it down over land, the balloon and its parts could drop into a populated area.
“This thing was gigantic. What happened if it came down and hit a school in a rural area? What happened if it came down? So I told them as soon as they could shoot it down, shoot it down. They made a wise decision. They shot it down over water, they’re recovering most of the parts, and they’re good,” he said.
Recall that on February 02, 2023, President Biden directed the balloon be shot down once it crossed into the northwestern United States, but acquiesced to the U.S. military’s request to not act until it was over water.
The 200-foot-tall (61-meter) balloon, along with its undercarriage of electronic gadgetry, was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. The U.S. military has been recovering as many parts as possible.
