The balloon incident.. China explains the consequences of America dropping its balloon on the relations between the two countries

China urged the United States not to escalate tensions or take any actions that harm Beijing's interests in response to the downing of the Chinese airship that flew over its territory.

Beijing confirmed, in a statement today, Monday, that Washington had "severely affected and damaged" relations between the two countries by its decision to shoot down the balloon.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Shi Feng said, "The American actions have affected and severely harmed the efforts and progress of the two parties to establish stability in Sino-American relations since the Bali meeting" between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last November.

The US military shot down the balloon the day before yesterday, Saturday, off the coast of South Carolina in the southeast of the country, as the Pentagon considered that it was intended for espionage purposes and sensitive information collection.

This sparked a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Washington, with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceling a visit to China at the last minute.

Beijing insists the airship is civilian, accusing the United States of "exaggerating its response" by using force.

Feng said that his country is "closely following the development of the situation" and "reserves the right to take necessary measures."

And the US Department of Defense (The Pentagon) announced earlier this month that it had discovered and tracked a Chinese spy balloon flying at a high altitude over the United States.

A US official explained that the balloon flew over the northwest of the United States, where there are sensitive air bases and strategic nuclear missiles in underground facilities.

Republican accusations against Biden

In the same context, Republican lawmakers accused China of deliberately monitoring sensitive US military sites using a suspected spy balloon.

The deputies pointed out that the administration of US President Joe Biden gave Beijing an intelligence opportunity by not shooting down the balloon while it was drifting at a high altitude through US airspace.

"The satellite has completed its mission. It should never have been allowed into the United States," said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner.

While the Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, denounced Biden's delay before alerting citizens from the balloon that conducted an "unprecedented" tour over the United States, indicating that this amounted to "dereliction of duty."

Biden had stated that he had issued an order last Wednesday to shoot down the balloon "as soon as possible," but the Pentagon wanted to wait "until it is in the safest place to do so," to avoid any possible damage from falling debris.

debris recovery

According to Pentagon officials, the balloon was at an altitude of 18 km above sea level at the time of its fall, 11 km from the coast.

A Pentagon statement stated that an operation is underway to recover the wreckage of the airship, with the participation of divers, as the wreckage fell into shallow waters, and that "will make it very easy."

The US Navy is "currently conducting recovery operations, assisting the US Coast Guard in securing the area and maintaining public safety," said Gen. Glenn VanHerc, head of US Aerospace Defense and Northern Command.

The Associated Press reported, quoting a US official, that those involved in recovering the balloon plan to take it to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis.