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When US military fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean this weekend, it wasn’t the end of the political episode, but the very beginning.
Should the balloon have been shot down earlier? Was it able to collect any intelligence? What should the US response be?
These questions and more now loom large over President Joe Biden as he prepares for his State of the Union address Tuesday evening. Republicans have flooded the political airwaves with criticism of what they say was Biden’s delayed response, but Democrats are defending the White House’s approach.
Underpinning these debates is the larger issue of US-China relations.
China said Sunday it “reserves the right” to deal with “similar situations” following the United States’ decision to shoot down its high-altitude balloon.
“The US used force to attack our civilian unmanned airship, which is an obvious overreaction. We express solemn protest against this move by the US side,” China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement on Sunday afternoon local time.
While lawmakers left and right are dismissing China’s explanation of a civilian research vessel blown off course, the agreement in Washington ends there.
Here is everything you need to know.
Tuesday. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Biden there was a Chinese balloon floating over Montana – and that it appeared to be on a clear path into the continental United States, differentiating it from previous Chinese surveillance craft.
The president appeared inclined at that point to take the balloon down, and asked Milley and other military officials to…
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