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In response to criticism from some senators, President Joe Biden stated on Thursday that he did not consider the transit of a Chinese surveillance balloon through the United States prior to its being shot down in the Atlantic Ocean to have been a significant security breach.
In an interview with Noticias Telemundo, Biden, who has worked to keep open lines of communication with Beijing and prevent tensions from rising, said he had no regrets about shooting the balloon down earlier.
It’s hardly a significant breach, Biden added. “In fact, it is a flagrant violation of international law. It belongs to us. We can do whatever we want with it once it enters our area.”
He claimed that US military authorities were concerned that, if it were shot down over land, the balloon and its components may fall into a populated area.
“This thing was enormous. What would happen if it fell and struck a school in a rural area? If it fell, what would happen? I therefore instructed them to destroy it as quickly as they could. They made a good choice. They successfully fired it down over water, are retrieving most of the parts, and are in fine condition “he stated.
On February 2, Biden ordered the balloon to be shot down once it entered the northwest region of the United States, but he agreed to wait to take action until it was over sea.
On February 4, a US fighter jet shot down the 200-foot (61-meter) tall balloon off the coast of South Carolina along with its electronic equipment undercarriage. The US military is recovering as many pieces as they can.
Biden should have ordered the balloon to be brought down sooner, some Republicans and Democrats have argued. On January 28, Alaska experienced the first detection of the high-altitude surveillance balloon.
