Biden wants to shoot down China’s spy balloon, Beijing’s ire

The United States stands ready to put an end to the story of the Chinese spy balloon traumatically flying over America, with tensions with Beijing inevitably set to rise. In fact, Washington is considering a plan to shoot down the balloon as soon as it begins to fly over the Atlantic. This was reported by Fox News quoting a senior government official and emphasizing that this way there would be no risk of debris falling into inhabited areas, which has so far led US military leaders to advise against shooting down the balloon. In addition, the sources specify, there would be the possibility of recovering the wreckage.

The revelations come after Joe Biden, to a question from journalists who asked him if he was going to give the order to shoot down the ball, simply replied: “we take care of it”. According to Pentagon estimates, the balloon should leave the continental part of the United States today and begin flying over the Atlantic.

The crisis triggered by the Chinese spy balloon over the United States further cools relations between Washington and Beijing, which urge the United States to remain calm and not “muddy” China. During a telephone conversation with the director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that he will not travel to China to follow up on the agreements signed between Biden and the Chinese president. , Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali last November. Blinken called the launch of a Chinese balloon over the US “an irresponsible act” and “a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law that undermines the purpose of the trip” and therefore “it would not be appropriate” to visit Beijing at this time. . Wang hit back at the criticism by stressing that China is “a responsible country” and that Beijing will not accept “unfounded speculation and outcry”.