Navy divers are working to recover debris from the suspected Chinese spy balloon that the United States shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.
US Navy and Coast Guard ships reached the spot where the balloon hit the water Saturday before establishing a perimeter around the area. Pentagon officials say the recovery effort is expected to be relatively easy thanks to the shallow depth of just under 50 feet, but it could still take days.
The US military had put several Navy and Coast Guard vessels on alert before shooting down the balloon. Recovery efforts began later Saturday and continue Sunday, with divers facing few obstacles other than frigid water temperatures, according to the New York Times.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the balloon, which was being used to monitor “strategic sites” in the United States, was an “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.” President Biden ordered the balloon shot down last week, but the military waited until the craft was over open sea.
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President Biden ordered the balloon shot down last week, but the military waited until the craft was over open sea.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP/Keith Tsuji/Getty Images)
Photos taken in Aynor, South Carolina of the downing of the Chinese spy balloon.
(FoxNews)
Defense officials stated that the US limited the information-gathering ability of the balloon during its flight across the US, but did not provide further details.
“I would also like to point out that while we take all necessary measures to protect ourselves against the [Chinese] the surveillance balloon’s collection of confidential information, the surveillance balloon’s flyover of US territory was of intelligence value to us,” an official said. “I cannot go into more detail, but we were able to study and examine the balloon and its equipment , which has been valuable.”
Republicans on Capitol Hill have raised questions about why Biden allowed the balloon to travel across the entire continental United States before shooting it down. The Americans first saw the craft in the air over Montana, although the Pentagon stated that they had been tracking it beforehand.
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Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, he argues that the Biden administration had “hoped to hide” the existence of the balloon from the Americans as it crossed from the West Coast to the East Coast.
A US Air Force F-22, like the one used to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon.
(U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Samuel Eckholm)
The lawmaker called Biden weak for allowing the balloon to cross the country before shooting it down. He also called for a clearer look at any intelligence the ship may have collected.
“I applaud our service members for completing a successful mission to neutralize a spy balloon sent by the Chinese Communist Party,” Rogers wrote in a statement. “I remain deeply concerned by the Biden administration’s decision to allow the spy balloon to traverse the United States.”
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“The Biden administration reportedly learned of the CCP spy balloon on January 28, nearly a week before Montana residents saw the balloon hovering over their state. It is clear that the Biden administration hoped to hide this national security failure from Congress and the American people. Now the White House must provide answers as to why they decided to allow a CCP spy balloon to cross the United States and what damage to our national security was caused by this decision. America must project force to deter China: This failure is yet another example of Biden administration weakness,” he continued.
