President Joe Biden said Monday the US “did the right thing” when it shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday and maintained that he always wanted to bring it down “as soon as it was appropriate.”
Speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House after returning from Camp David, Biden was asked if the incident changes the US-China relationship. He replied: “No.”
“We made it clear to China what we’re going to do, they understand our position, we’re not going to back off,” the president said. “We did the right thing, and there’s not a question of weakening or strengthening, it’s just the reality.”
Asked by CNN’s Phil Mattingly why the Chinese would commit such a brazen act, the President paused and then laughed.
“They’re the Chinese government,” he said.
On Saturday, the US military shot down the high-altitude balloon after it drifted off the East Coast near the Carolinas. The Pentagon later admitted that three other suspected Chinese spy balloons had transited the continental United States undetected under the Trump administration, which officials said were not detected during those years due to an “awareness gap.” Those incidents were not made public until Saturday.
But Biden denied that he ordered this balloon shot down because it became known to the public, telling reporters that once the balloon came “into the United States from Canada I told the Defense Department I wanted to shoot it down as soon as it was appropriate.”
“They concluded we should not shoot it down over land, it was not a serious threat, and we should wait until it got across the water,” he said.
China has acknowledged the balloon belonged to them, but insisted it was a civilian research vessel and was not being used for surveillance. The Chinese government expressed its…
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