16 February 2023 - 23:30US President Joe Biden speaks about a high-altitude Chinese balloon and three other objects that were recently shot down by US fighter jets, during brief remarks in Washington, the US, February 16 2023. Picture: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS
China says the 60m balloon was for monitoring weather conditions, but Washington says it clearly was a surveillance balloon with a huge undercarriage containing electronics. “We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to the Chinese spy balloon programme or they were surveillance vehicles from any other country,” Biden said.
The incident prompted US secretary of state Antony Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing, where both sides had sought to stabilise already fraught relations. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that US military and intelligence agencies tracked the balloon from when it lifted off from China’s southern island province of Hainan.
Way to go, Biden!