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Republicans are voicing outrage over the Biden administration’s lack of transparency with the American public about the Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over the US for days.
The existence of the inflatable drone was first confirmed Thursday when it was reported by the Billings Gazette after it was spotted over Montana, home to one of the US military’s three nuclear missile silos.
A later report from Bloomberg found that the president found out about the balloon, and its dangerous threat, days before, on January 28.
The decision to keep the story under wraps as officials worried that the hysteria caused by the balloon would derail Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The decision to keep the story under wraps because officials worried that the hysteria caused by the balloon would derail Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
On Saturday, the balloon was shot down over North Carolina. An operation was underway in US territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon, which was flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be the size of three school buses.
Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis told DailyMail.com ‘Communist China’s surveillance balloon violates international law and threatens our homeland. It is a scandal that the Biden Administration saw this balloon days ago while flying over the Aleutian Islands and did nothing about it.”
The recently re-elected congresswoman added: ‘The president has not even commented on this unacceptable act of aggression by the CCP,
“Whether it’s our border or the airspace, Congress must take action to protect it, because it’s clear this president won’t,” he continued.
While the House Judiciary GOP Twitter account tweeted: ‘Joe Biden knew the Chinese spy balloon was coming. I tried to hide it from the American people. May it fly ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.’
The message added: ‘And only after the whole country begged him to act, our great army shot him down. Embarrassing. Scary. Sad.’
President Joe Biden was told about the balloon on January 28, but waited a week before acting.
Secretary Antony Blinken was due to leave for Beijing for talks with the Chinese president on Friday.
On Friday, Blinken canceled his trip to China at the last minute. Speaking about the balloon, the secretary called it an “irresponsible act” and referred to it as a “clear violation of US sovereignty and international law.”
Blinken, who was scheduled to leave Washington for Beijing on Friday night, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the United States was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision ) to take this step on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions we were prepared to have.’
Officially, the Pentagon has called the balloon an “intelligence gathering” device.
The Chinese government tried on Saturday to downplay the cancellation.
“Actually, the US and China have never announced any visit, making such an announcement is their business and we respect that,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday morning.
China has continued to claim that the balloon was simply a weather research ‘blimp’ that had blown off course.
The Pentagon rejected that out of hand, as well as China’s claim that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational capabilities.
Biden had told reporters on Saturday that “we’ll take care of that” when asked about the balloon.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.
Television images showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon’s descent into the water. US military aircraft were seen flying nearby and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.
Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.
The balloon was seen Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it neared the coast.
In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed the airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The FAA diverted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of flight restrictions.
In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed the airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The official Chinese government line is that the balloon is a meteorological research device.
The Coast Guard advised sailors to immediately leave the area due to US military operations “presenting significant danger.”
Biden had been inclined to lower the balloon onto land when first told of it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed Chinese intelligence’s assessment of possible gains. .
The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said in a statement.
The uncensored reactions on the Internet in China reflected the official government position that the United States was exaggerating the situation.
Some used it as an opportunity to mock US defenses, saying it couldn’t even fend off a balloon, and influential nationalists used the news to mock the US.
China has denied any espionage claim and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorological research.
The Foreign Office stressed that the balloon ride was out of its control and urged the US not to ‘blur’ it based on the balloon.