China FIRES its weather service chief as he claims spy balloon strayed off course
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China fired its top meteorologist on Sunday as fallout from the spy balloon saga continued, and efforts to recover the downed balloon continued off the coast of South Carolina.
Joe Biden on Saturday ordered F22 fighters to shoot the balloon out of the sky, as soon as it passed the coast and headed for a view.
Pentagon chiefs warned Biden not to bring it down to the ground, arguing that the debris could cause property damage and endanger lives.
On Sunday afternoon, images shared on social media showed fragments of the balloon being brought ashore by officials. It will be taken to Quantico, Virginia for testing.
Fragments of the balloon are seen being brought ashore on Sunday in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Zhuang Guotai, the head of the China Meteorological Administration, has been sacked from his post, news broke on Sunday. China insists ‘spy balloon’ was nothing more than a weather balloon gone off course
China reacted angrily on Sunday to the decision.
“For the United States to insist on using armed force is clearly an overreaction that seriously violates international practice,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Beijing threatened that it “reserves the right to take further action in response.”
The country continues to insist that the balloon was merely a weather monitoring device, which went off course.
Zhuang Guotai, head of the China Meteorological Administration, has been removed from his post, the daily telegraph reported on Sunday.
The balloon was hit by a missile from an F-22 fighter near Myrtle Beach, captivating sky watchers in a populated area known as the Grand Strand for its miles of beaches that attract retirees and vacationers.
Boxes are seen being unloaded from a boat that participated in the search for the debris.
The debris spread for approximately seven miles and fell into 47 feet of water.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it regretted that the balloon had mistakenly entered US airspace, claiming it was a civilian craft.
The balloon is seen being shot out of the sky on Saturday afternoon.
Crowds gathered in neighborhoods, hotel parking lots and beaches to watch the balloon float, with some cheering right after it sank.
The festive atmosphere belied the seriousness of the situation, and law enforcement throughout the county of 366,000 warned people not to touch any debris and to call dispatchers.
‘Members of the US Armed Forces are coordinating to collect debris; however, fragments may wash ashore,” the Horry County Police Department said in a statement.
The debris spread for about seven miles and fell into 47 feet of water, shallower than authorities expected.
The balloon entered the US air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on January 28 and moved largely overland through Alaska and then into Canadian airspace over the Northwest Territories on Monday.
A helicopter is seen on Sunday circling the seas in search of debris from the balloon.
A ship is seen participating in the search for balloon remains.
Authorities said the first spy balloon to travel across the US went down six miles off the coast of South Carolina in water about 47 feet deep.
He crossed back into US territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.
Republicans have demanded to know why Biden did not order the balloon to be shot down sooner.
The Pentagon said it was too risky.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, said he did not believe the explanation.
“It’s incredible to suggest that there was nowhere” where the United States could have safely shot down the balloon, he said.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said the full Senate will receive a briefing next week on the balloon, including details about its surveillance capabilities, and that the administration is considering action against the Chinese for “their brazen activities.” .
He said the Republican criticism was political and premature, and that the United States had “sent a clear message to China that this is not acceptable.”
Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, canceled his planned trip to Beijing.
The trip would have made Blinken the highest-ranking official to visit China since Biden became president, and the first secretary of state to visit China in more than four years.
Beijing tried to downplay the cancellation, stressing that the visit had not been officially confirmed, a move seen as an attempt to save face as Blinken was expected to meet Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.
“Actually, the US and China have never announced any visits,” China’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The United States making any such announcement is its business, and we respect that.”