February 4, 2023
2 mins read

China ‘strongly’ opposes US move on Airship

President Biden said he had ordered the military to shoot it down on Wednesday in internal discussions preceding the public disclosure….reports Asian Lite News

China expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition towards the US use of force to attack China’s “civilian unmanned airship”, Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, fighter jets shot down the balloon – which China claims was a civilian unmanned airship – that had been adrift across US airspace for days now.

“I ordered them to shoot it down,” President Joe Biden said on Saturday confirming the downing of the Chinese contraption that had gripped the country in a frenzy since Thursday, when the US department of defense had first made it public, acknowledging, at the same time, it was not first such incident.

President Biden said he had ordered the military to shoot it down on Wednesday in internal discussions preceding the public disclosure. Military leaders had recommended waiting because of fear of falling debris on civilian population underneath.

Further affirmation of the shooting of the balloon followed in a statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. “This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, US fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in US airspace,” he said.

He added that the balloon was being “used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States.

He reiterated that the president had ordered it to be shot down on Wednesday as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path. “After careful analysis, US military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload,” Austin said further and added, “In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities.”

The balloon was shot down just after it left the mainland and was above water, off the coast of South Carolina.

ALSO READ: Blinken concludes Jerusalem visit amid tensions

Previous Story

India-France-UAE trilateral gains steam

Next Story

EU, G7 unveil Russian fuel price caps

Latest from -Top News

Putin lauds UAE’s role in prisoner swaps 

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and President Vladimir Putin reaffirm growing partnership amid UAE’s humanitarian role in Ukraine conflict  In a strong display of strategic diplomacy and humanitarian leadership, President His

ATM 2025 sets new standard 

The global event drew over 55,000 travel and tourism professionals from 166 countries, marking a 16% year-on-year increase in attendance and cementing Dubai’s role as a key hub for shaping the future

China to evaluate offer of tariff talks  

Punishing US tariffs that have reached 145% on many Chinese products came into force in April while Beijing has responded with fresh 125% duties on imports from the US   China has

Trump ousts Waltz as NSA 

Waltz has been under scrutiny for weeks after reporting from The Atlantic that he had mistakenly added the magazine’s editor-in-chief to a Signal chat being used to discuss military plans  President Donald
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Concerns over China helping Russia’s defence industrial base

In a big claim, British Secretary of State for Defence

‘CCP enlists citizens to guard against perceived threats’

This campaign is blurring the line between vigilance and paranoia….reports