China accused the United States of “indiscriminate use of force” in their shooting down of Chinese a spy balloon that was flying over the country over the weekend, claiming it will respond to the move "if necessary.".“China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned, and reserves the right to make further responses if necessary,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday..On Saturday, a US military jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon as it floated off the coast of South Carolina. The balloon was downed over shallow water six miles off the coast, and the US coast guard is now attempting to recover the debris..US officials first disclosed the balloon's presence over the country on Thursday. At that time, the high-altitude balloon was travelling over the Midwest state of Montana, where several of the country's nuclear missile silos are located..The balloon had flown over the US state of Alaska and through the Canadian Arctic and provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Canadian officials confirmed that the balloon was tracked the entire time it was in Canadian airspace..After being flagged by NORAD, US fighter jets investigated the balloon and determined it wasn't fitted with any weapons, but had with high-resolutions cameras..While US officials said the balloon's path was a "clear violation" of US sovereignty, they were hesitant to shoot it down over the country due to the size of the balloon's "payload" and potential safety risks to people on the ground..US President Joe Biden accepted the Pentagon's recommendations not to shoot the balloon down while it was over the country, waiting instead until it was over water. "We successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden said on Sunday..Several Republican politicians criticized the administration for not shooting the balloon down sooner. Former US President Donald Trump and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley both called for the balloon to be destroyed on Thursday.."We should have shot this balloon down over the Aleutian Islands, [Alaska]" said Republican Tom Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We should never have allowed it to transit the entire continental United States.".While Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said China was using the balloon to gather intelligence on strategic military sites, Beijing maintained the balloon was being used for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes, and had accidently strayed into US airspace.."The US in insisting on the use of force is an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice," said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday morning..Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand (Oakville, ON) said Saturday that Canada had been "closely engaged" with the US on the balloon. "We unequivocally support this action," she said of the balloon's downing..On Saturday, Columbia's air force confirmed that an airborne object similar to the Chinese balloon was flying over its territory, a day after US officials said another Chinese balloon was spotted somewhere over Latin America..The Columbian air force said they monitored the balloon until it left the country's airspace. "It was determined that it did not represent a threat to national security," they added..On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the balloon spotted over Latin America was yet another civilian airship that had deviated from its intended route and flown over the region by mistake..“Affected by weather and due to its limited self-control ability, the airship severely deviated from its set route and entered the space of Latin America and the Caribbean by accident,” Mao said. “China is a responsible country. We have always strictly abided by international law."
