US downs Chinese balloon, drawing threat from China | Zeke Miller, Michael Balsamo, Colleen Long, Aamer Madhani & Lolita C. Baldor / The Associated Press

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The US military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America.

WASHINGTON— China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the US this week dealt a severe blow to already strained US-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions. On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up—and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.In this photo provided by Chad Fish, the remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the US, giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. China has claimed that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand—as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

This isn’t the first time Chinese spy balloons have crossed into US airspace in recent years, one of the officials said. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden’s time as president they’ve seen balloons cross, but not for this long, the official said.

 

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