China insists on getting back balloon debris
Beijing says the US should immediately return the tattered remains of the surveillance device following Washington’s ‘clear overreaction’ to the satellite.
China has demanded the return of debris from the spy balloon shot down off the US coast, as American officials said they hoped to “exploit” the wreckage.
The balloon, which was 60m tall and carried a payload the size of a small airliner, was shot down over the Atlantic on Saturday after drifting across US airspace for a week. It passed over American military bases and missile silos in what US officials have condemned as a brazen act of espionage.
It emerged on Wednesday that Beijing had rejected a request for a secure call between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and his counterpart on the day the balloon was shot down. “On Saturday, 4 February, immediately after taking action to down the PRC balloon, the DOD submitted a request for a secure call between Secretary Austin and PRC Minister of National Defence Wei Fenghe,” Pat Ryder said in reference to the People’s Republic of China. “Unfortunately, the PRC has declined our request. Our commitment to open lines of communication will continue.”
The US military has begun an operation to recover the debris to ascertain how the balloon operates and what it may have been looking for.
China, which insisted the device was a civilian balloon conducting weather research that had blown off course, said any debris recovered off the coast of South Carolina would belong to Beijing. “This balloon does not belong to the US and the Chinese government will continue to firmly safeguard its legitimate interests,” Mao Ning, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said.
China accused the US of a “clear overreaction and serious violation of international practice” after President Joe Biden ordered the balloon to be shot down over open water on Saturday.
In a veiled threat to retaliate against US spy operations over China, Beijing said it reserved the right to take “necessary measures to deal with similar situations”.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington expected to “exploit what we recover and learn even more than we have learnt”.
After another Chinese balloon was reported over South America at the weekend, the Pentagon said similar aircraft had entered US airspace at least three times before.
If China has adopted the balloons as a method of surveillance, it is not clear what they hope to spot that is not visible to satellites.
John Kirby, a US national security spokesman, said the debris would “give us a lot more clarity, not only on the capabilities that these balloons have but what China is trying to do with them”.
Mr Biden said his administration had made its position clear to China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to Beijing planned for the weekend.
Mr Biden said: “We’ve made it clear to China what we’re going to do. They understand our position. We’re not going to back off.”
The mission to shoot down the balloon involved eight aircraft, including two F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. When the single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile hit its target, the pilot of the lead F-22 said: “Splash one. TOI (target of interest).”
The pilot’s wingman confirmed: “That is a T-kill.”
The Times
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