The Chinese Defense Ministry loudly protested America’s decision to shoot down a Chinese alleged espionage aircraft over the waters of South Carolina, claiming that taking action to stop the breach of U.S. airspace after the balloon had crossed the entire continental United States and Alaska was an “obvious overreaction.”
The Chinese Defense Ministry suggested it could take reciprocal action against American civilian aircraft, without elaborating.
News began rapidly spreading across social media on Friday of a bizarre, round flying object appearing over the skies of Montana, forcing the administration of leftist President Joe Biden, who has a long history of business ties to China, to announce it had detected an unauthorized Chinese-origin balloon over American land. The Chinese government soon thereafter confirmed – after initially denying any information – that the balloon indeed originated in China, but claimed it had deviated out of the country and into America as a result of force majeure.