Joe Biden: I make no apologies for taking down the spy balloon
The President of the United States (US), Joe Biden, has said that he makes no apologies for shooting down an alleged Chinese spy balloon floating over sensitive installations in the US.
Biden said that the balloon was used for alleged spying. Biden further said, “I make no apologies for taking down that balloon.” He also said that the US was “not looking for a new Cold War.”
The US President also said that he would speak with China’s President Xi Jinping about the incident. On Thursday, he said, “I expect to be speaking with President Xi and we’re going to get to the bottom of this.” He further said that the Biden administration would always act to protect the interests of the American people. His comments came at the White House on Thursday.
The Biden administration provided no further information about the first Chinese balloon. However, it has been facing intense pressure to talk directly to the public about the incident. It has been in a state of alarm since the alleged spy balloon was spotted tracking over a series of top-secret nuclear weapons sites in the US.
Biden said that he directed his team to deal with these unidentified objects moving forward. He said that the US military adjusted radar settings to detect unidentified objects.
The Chinese authorities have denied that the balloon was used for surveillance purposes. They claimed that the balloon was just a stray weather research craft used for collecting weather data.
The incident has prompted a diplomatic rift between the US and China. Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State, also cancelled his visit to China following the incident.
Recently, the Chinese authorities also said that US balloons had overflown Chinese territory. However, US officials denied China’s accusation against the United States. White House also said that there was no American balloon flying over Chinese airspace.
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