Watch: Moment Chinese ‘spy balloon’ is shot down over Carolina
The first images from a US Navy operation to recover debris from a shot-down Chinese surveillance balloon show pieces of the craft being pulled out of the Atlantic Ocean.
US military officials have reported that similar balloons traveled across parts of the US during Donald Trump’s presidency, with an Air Force document detailing how surveillance balloons from China “circumnavigated the globe” in 2019.
The former president dismissed the Pentagon’s claims that there were three separate incidents during his presidency, saying Beijing had “too much respect” for him to have carried out such activity. He also took credit for nation’s attention on China, claiming he was “the first person” who “strongly and brilliantly stated” such threats.
President Joe Biden defended his administration’s response as divers on Monday began recovering debris from the sea where the balloon was shot down on Saturday by a US fighter jet.
“We’ve made it clear to China what we’re going to do,” the president said. “They understand our position. We’re not going to back off, we did the right thing.”
