US: Chinese spy balloon aggravated relations between Beijing and Washington as much as possible

USA And China They are facing one of the most serious diplomatic crises in recent months after a Chinese balloon shot down yesterday, Saturday, flew over the North American country for several days, aggravating relations between the two powers to the maximum.

Bye China continues to defend that the balloon was an artifact for civilian use and accuses USA overreact, government Joe Biden He continues to defend his performance as critical voices mount that he should have reacted sooner.

They criticize the “delay” in government action

After a hectic Saturday afternoon when three airports were closed, several military planes flew over the coast of South Carolina and a rocket finally detonated the balloon, today, Sunday, a question that government critics Biden — who delivers his second State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday — is: why did they wait so long to tear it down?

“There are responses that should happen within seconds or minutes, and the fact that it took days for this administration, I think, makes us wonder if we are well protected,” he said in an interview this Sunday. foxnews Republican senator randpoleMember of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.

According to data provided by the US government, the balloon entered the country through Alaska on January 28. then went to Canada 30th and re-entered USAover Idaho on the 31st.

According to Paul, China received “a lot of information about how slow the Biden administration has been to respond.” “It makes us very weak in the eyes of our enemy and I think it was a big mistake,” he said.

For also Republican Senator Marco Rubio, With the balloon, China tried to send a “clear message” to the world that “they can fly a balloon over US airspace.” and that nothing happens for several days, he said in an interview this Sunday CNN.

“They want to make the world believe that they are the most powerful nation and that USA It is a great power in decline,” he added.

settlement transaction

The existence of a Chinese balloon flying over Montana (northeast), where one of the country’s three nuclear missile silos is located, has been confirmed Pentagon Last Thursday.

A few hours later China He admitted that the balloon belonged to him, although he insisted that it was a civilian airship used for meteorological research, a version that the US does not believe.

Speaking to the press, a senior Department of Defense official explained this Saturday that once the existence of the balloon was known, it was determined that it did not pose any civilian or military threat and possible courses of action were explored.

Military commanders explained Bidenwho was constantly informed that “although we had the ability to shoot it down over Montana, we didn’t feel we could sufficiently reduce the risk over land,” he said.

So the President decided to wait until a balloon the size of three buses reached the water, as it did on Saturday.

As the balloon traveled across the country, a source in the Defense Ministry explained, and because “it clearly crossed important objects, including military installations”, “additional precautions” were taken for safety reasons.

strained relationship

USA he is convinced that the purpose of the Chinese balloon was “observation of strategic objects.” This was announced on Saturday by the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin. Just like another Chinese balloon that the US says is circulating these days in Latin America.

All of these devices are believed in the United States to be part of a fleet of Chinese balloons designed for reconnaissance operations.

After these accusations Beijing This Sunday, he expressed his deep “displeasure and protest” that the US “overreacted” to the use of force to bring down the globe. He goes on to say that the plane was “civilian” and that it ended up in the US “accidentally”.

After months of attempts to bring positions closer, the balloon provoked a new diplomatic crisis between Washington and Beijing and caused the suspension of a trip that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken planned to make to China.

The visit, which was to come after a meeting Xi Jinping and Biden held in Bali, Indonesia last November ahead of the G20 summit, was their first face-to-face meeting since an American took power in January 2021.

This meeting promoted rapprochement between the two powers in order to prevent rivalry between the two powers from leading to open conflict, although both were firm in their red lines, especially on Taiwan.

All this after during the reign of the Republican Donald Trump (2017-2021), USA will declare a trade war China imposing duties on their products.

From his social network Pravda and as a presidential candidate, Trump today added fuel to the fire: “As president, I have taken the most dramatic action of any administration to reduce China’s ability to spy on the United States, and when I return to the White House, these efforts will be greatly expanded,” he said. warned. .

(As reported by EFE)