US President Joe Biden agreed with the arguments that shooting down a Chinese aircraft in the sky over the continental part of the country is unsafe. This was announced on Friday, February 3, by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre.
“He (Biden. – Ed.) asked the military to present him with options, and the head of the Pentagon (Lloyd) Austin, chairman (of the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff Mark – ed.) Milley, as well as the head of the Northern Command, said not to take action due to the security risk to people on earth,” she said during the briefing.
It is noted that this position has been sharply criticized by the Republican Party. So, the head of the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Mark Green, was outraged that the presidential administration did not notify his department about the incident in time.
In turn, the senator from the state of Montana, where the ball was seen, Democrat John Tester said that he was in contact with the Pentagon, but did not have enough information to draw any conclusions. He also expressed his intention to clarify the situation and find out what specific steps the authorities are taking to protect citizens.
Earlier in the day, Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said that the defense department considers the appearance of a Chinese balloon over US territory a violation of international law.
According to the latest information from the military, the observation probe will be in the sky over American territory for several more days. At the moment, the ball is in the central part of the country and is moving to the east.
Meanwhile, also on February 3, the American leader did not answer questions about the Chinese reconnaissance balloon. He also did not comment on the cancellation of the visit of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Beijing, which was postponed indefinitely after the incident.
At the same time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that the balloon flew from China, but this is a civilian airship for scientific research, which ended up in US airspace unintentionally. The department noted that they regret the involuntary intrusion, and also added that they continue to maintain contact with the American side on this matter.
The fact that a reconnaissance balloon from China was seen in the sky over the United States became known on the night of February 3. The Pentagon then reported that the ball did not pose a danger to the population, and emergency measures had already been taken to protect classified information.
