US shoots down Chinese spy balloon: Reports - Washington News
by IANS | Updated Feb 04, 2023
A confirmation was awaited from the US defense department.
The balloon was over the Carolinas at the time.
The Federal Aviation Agency, the US aviation regulator, had closed airspace around are around the time of the shooting and shut down three airports in preparation.
Witnesses recounted in TV interviews and on social media that they saw several fighter jets around the balloon for 30 to 40 minutes before it was shot down.
"We're gonna take care of it," President Joe Biden told reporters just hours before, when asked if the US will shoot down the balloon.
The balloon which was first reported by the US department of defense on Thursday marked a new spike in tensions between the US and China, with the US describing the balloon an "unacceptable" violation of US sovereignty and ed to the postponement of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's high profile visit to Beijing this week.
Related Articles
- Sikh professor deported in 2021 returns to Fiji
- Israeli fighter jets strike Gaza military post in response to rocket fire
- Cambodia revokes West-backed VOD radio's license over 'slanderous' broadcast
- Sedition case against ex-Pak Finance Minister for 'sabotaging negotiations' with IMF
- 6.1-magnitude quake hits New Zealand
- US-China rivalry will not split the world, globalisation is here to stay: Study
- S.Korean civic group accuses Army man of covering up suicide of bullied conscript
- Questions about spate of high-altitude objects shot down over North America
- Cambodian Prime Minister visits Laos; discusses strategic partnership, border
- Venezuelan Prez urges youths to defeat US blockade on National Youth Day