Beijing reserves the right to respond to Washington with the necessary means in the event of incidents similar to the case of a Chinese balloon that was shot down by the US Air Force the day before.

This message was spread by the Ministry of Defense of China.

They also stressed that the US reaction to the incident was excessive.

“The use of US military force to attack our civilian drone is a clear overreaction.

We strongly protest against such a step by the American side and reserve the right to use the necessary means in resolving such situations, ”TASS quotes a message from the Ministry of Defense.

air traveler

Recall that a Chinese high-altitude balloon, according to US media, flew over Alaska, after which it again entered US airspace through Canada.

February 1, he was spotted over the city of Billings in Montana.

The region is home to important military installations, including strategic bomber airfields and Minuteman III ICBM bases.

The Pentagon confirmed reports of a balloon over America on February 2.

Defense Department spokesman General Patrick Ryder said the aerial object is "at an altitude well above commercial air travel and poses no military or physical threat to people on the ground."

At the same time, Ryder emphasized that, as soon as the balloon was discovered, the US government immediately took measures to protect against the collection of classified information.

Later, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that President Joe Biden agreed with the military, who recommended not shooting down the balloon "for fear that its debris could pose a threat to people on the ground."

However, on February 4, it was decided to still destroy the balloon when it was in the sky over the Atlantic Ocean.

The authorities closed a certain section of the airspace, where the object was shot down.

The operation off the coast of South Carolina was attended by F-22 Raptor and F-15 Eagle fighters, as well as KS-135 tanker aircraft and US Navy ships.

The balloon was hit by an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile launched by an F-22 fighter.

At the same time, the process was broadcast live by many Western media.

American media note that this operation was the first successful air combat for the F-22, which was previously used by the US Air Force only to destroy ground targets in Syria and Afghanistan.

  • F-22 Raptor fifth generation fighter

  • AP

  • © Staff Sgt.

    Chris Drzazgowski / US Air Force

At the same time, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, later said that the Chinese balloon was allegedly used to monitor US strategic facilities.

It is worth noting that the official Pentagon press release states that the United States first spotted a balloon on January 28, when it entered US airspace near the Aleutian Islands.

“The military command decided that while the balloon was flying over land, there was an unnecessary risk that its wreckage could harm civilians,” the department stressed.

Also, after the operation, Joe Biden said that he ordered the military to shoot him down on Wednesday, February 1, that is, when the balloon, judging by the first official statement from the Pentagon, was still over the territory of Montana.

“On Wednesday, when I was briefed on the balloon, I ordered the Department of Defense to shoot it down ... as soon as possible,” the president told reporters.

However, the Chinese balloon was over the territory of the continental United States for several days.

The actions of the authorities were criticized by representatives of the Republican Party.

So, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, known for her radical views, expressed the opinion that if it were not Biden, but Donald Trump, the president, he would not have allowed such a long stay of the “spy” balloon over the United States.

In turn, Senator Steve Danes from the state of Montana said that the current administration was unable to protect either the borders or the country's airspace.

“He was brought there by a miracle”

According to political scientists, China makes the necessary response statements in such a situation, but there, unlike the United States, there are sane people in power who will not raise such a fuss because of a civilian probe that has gone astray.

“It was clear to everyone that this was not a military or intelligence balloon, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, told President Biden.

This balloon did not carry any danger, ”said military expert Dmitry Drozdenko in an interview with RT.

  • Chinese balloon in the sky over Montana

  • AFP

  • © ChaseDOAK

He added that the position of the American side, which announced that the balloon was a reconnaissance object, is untenable.

“Low orbit satellites provide a much better quality of intelligence information, and they can be directed directly to the desired sector where data is required to be collected.

And this ball was uncontrollable, it was brought there by a miracle, with the help of air currents.

It is unlikely that in China someone sane could seriously count on the success of such an intelligence operation: “We will launch a balloon, and a random wind will bring us important data about US strategic facilities,” Drozdenko emphasized.

The balloon was really large, but did not pose a danger to the Americans, the expert is sure.

“The American media featured a comical phrase about its size “three buses”.

If you look at old Soviet photographs of balloons and know how they work, it becomes clear that in a rarefied space at high altitudes, the balloon is blown away, and when it descends, it dissolves again.

It is filled with pure helium, it does not weigh "like three buses".

Judging by the available information, Biden insisted on hitting the ball, although the military explained to him that this was a senseless action, but then they still gave in, ”the analyst explained.

The General Director of Aerocon JSC, an expert of the Aeronet working group Eduard Bagdasaryan, in a commentary on RT, also expressed the opinion that, despite the official statements of the Chinese Ministry of Defense, Beijing is unlikely to specifically look for a reason for a retaliatory step to the Americans for the destruction of its meteorological probe.

“In general, of course, the most severe scenario is also possible against the background of the current situation in the world, but China always behaves very restrainedly and does not make such sparkling attacks unnecessarily,” the expert stated.

  • The contrail of an F-22 fighter jet and a Sidewinder missile that hit a Chinese balloon

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  • © @astroqv

He believes the Biden administration's decision to bring the balloon to global attention and then shoot it down was hasty.

“The Chinese, in response to this, were obliged to say something, and in general, one can only assume that this can now happen to American facilities.

It is not a fact that now a vendetta with the destruction of balloons will immediately begin, but countermeasures from the PRC cannot be ruled out.

In general, this situation would be funny if it did not have a chance to escalate out of the blue, ”Baghdasaryan concluded.