(GoRealNewsNow.com) – BREAKING NOW: On Saturday, after citing national security and invoking his powers as commander in chief, President Joe Biden ordered that China’s spy balloon that has been traversing the United States for says be shot down.
Just moments ago, U.S. authorities declared that they had shot down the Chinese spy balloon that was first seen by citizens hovering over a military facility in Montana.
The alleged surveillance aircraft was brought down off the coast of Carolina, and an operation to retrieve the wreckage is underway.
The balloon was first seen flying over a military base near Billings, Montana, that holds intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Despite President Biden’s initial inclination to shoot down the balloon when it was first spotted, he was convinced not to do so due to fears that the debris could cause harm to civilians or property.
The FAA closed the airspace around the balloon in North and South Carolina on Saturday morning, and the Coast Guard advised local mariners to stay away.
The intrusion into U.S. airspace led to the postponing of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned trip to Beijing, scheduled for Sunday.
China claimed that the balloon was a civilian research craft carried off course, but the Pentagon rejected that explanation during a Friday press conference.
In response to the incident, President Biden stated, “we’re going to take care of it.”
The Chinese government downplayed the cancellation of Blinken’s visit in a statement on Saturday, saying, “the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that.”
Blinken told reporters that he informed his Chinese counterpart during a phone call that the balloon’s intrusion into U.S. airspace was “an irresponsible act” and that it was detrimental to their scheduled discussions.
There has been no reaction from China to the destruction of the spy balloon.
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