‘No apologies, will compete': Joe Biden on downing Chinese balloon | Watch US President's speech
2 min read 17 Feb 2023, 07:47 AM ISTChinese spy balloon: The United States has shot down all-four mysterious objects and the debris has now been retrieved for analysis. These unidentified objects have escalated tensions between the US and China.
PremiumChinese spy balloon row: US President Joe Biden on Friday broke his silence regarding the unknown aerial objects found in the skies which sparked controversy about whether they belonged to China. The United States has shot down all-four mysterious objects and the debris has now been retrieved for analysis. These unidentified objects have escalated tensions between the US and China.
In his most extensive public remarks since the US shot down the Chinese spy balloon on February 4, Joe Biden asserted that he will be speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping and made no apologies for taking down the first balloon over South Carolina.
“The intelligence community believes that the objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions," the US President said.
He said that the results of the administration's review of how to deal with unidentified objects going forward would be classified and shared with relevant members of Congress.
Take a look at US President Joe Biden's speech below,
While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help “distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not."
Further, Biden sharply criticized China's surveillance program, saying the shootdown sent a “clear message, the violation of our sovereignty is unacceptable".
“I won't hesitate to bring down any aerial object seen as a threat to the United States. If any object presents a threat to the safety, or security (of) the American people I will take it down," he added.
The first of these objects, a Chinese balloon, was downed by a fighter jet on 4 February. While China says it was for weather monitoring, US officials say it was being used for surveillance.
A further three objects were downed between February 10 and 12 over Deadhorse in Alaska, near Yukon in Canada, and over Lake Huron close to the US-Canada border.
It’s unclear how much control China retained over the balloon once it veered from its original trajectory. A US official had earlier said the balloon could have been externally maneuvered or directed to loiter over a specific target, but it’s unclear whether Chinese forces did so.
The White House revealed that such balloons had traversed US territory at least three times during President Donald Trump’s administration unknown to Trump or his aides — and that others have flown over dozens of nations across five continents. Kirby emphasized Monday that they were only detected by the Biden administration.
