The American army shot down, on Saturday February 4, the Chinese “spy” balloon which was flying over the territory of the United States. A decision castigated by China, according to BFMTV.
For 48 hours, tensions in the Sino-American relationship have been rekindled. Indeed, Friday, February 3, a Chinese “spy” balloon flew over the United States before being shot down by a missile launched from a combat plane, as BFM TV points out. He passed through the state of Montana, which is home to nuclear missile silos.
On the one hand, the Pentagon ensures that it is indeed a spy balloon. On the other hand, the Chinese authorities explain that it is a “civilian aircraft, used for research purposes, mainly meteorological” and that it made an “involuntary entry” into American territory, as the media points out. ‘information. Beijing has widely criticized the decision to destroy the device on Sunday. For the Chinese executive, the United States reacted “clearly excessively” and “seriously violated international practices” , notes 20 Minutes.
Across the Atlantic, this act was perceived as an “unacceptable violation”of American ” sovereignty” . ” On the orders of President Joe Biden, an American fighter jet (…) successfully shot down a high-altitude spy balloon, which belonged to the People’s Republic of China, in the airspace above the coast of South Carolina,” Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, said in a statement. The president wanted to “congratulate” the pilots who carried out the operation. He explained that he gave the order to shoot down the ball on Wednesday, but was waiting for him to be in a safe place to do so.
“China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protests against the use of force by the United States ,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.”reserved the right” to reply, explains 20 Minutes . The Americans do not seem happy with the situation. The head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, was due to travel to the Chinese capital on Friday for a rare visit. A trip canceled after the discovery of the balloon.
At the same time, a second ball was observed by the American defense. On Friday, a similar craft flew over Latin America.