Photo: Al Jazeera
Washington: The US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina with a missile.
According to the foreign news agency, the spy balloon was flying at an altitude of about 60,000 feet when it was shot down at a distance of about six nautical miles.
China’s foreign minister condemned the military attack on the “unmanned civilian aircraft” and said it reserves the right to respond as necessary.
According to US defense officials, US President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other military officials discussed shooting down the balloon on Wednesday, but no action was taken to protect people on the ground from harm.
read more; flight of reconnaissance balloons; The US Secretary of State has postponed his visit to China
Two days ago, the Pentagon tracked a suspected Chinese spy balloon in US airspace and issued a red alert, prompting US Air Force jets to surround the balloon.
China apologized to the United States for the issue of the spy balloon, saying it was owned by a private company that was engaged in climate change research.
It should be noted that US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken postponed his visit to China in protest over the sending of spy balloons into Washington’s airspace.
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