The US military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States yesterday according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. President Joe Biden approved the operation, which resulted in a diplomatic fallout between Washington and Beijing. The balloon was first spotted in the sky over Montana earlier in the week and had travelled across the country before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina.
The discovery of the balloon prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone his diplomatic visit to China this week. Biden faced criticism from Republicans for allowing the balloon to continue drifting above the continental US for days, CNN reported. Military officials had advised against shooting down the balloon while over the US mainland due to the risk posed by the debris to…
