US President Joe Biden has said he does not believe the suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew into US airspace was a major security breach. President Biden told “Noticias Telemundo” that he does not feel sorry for the way he handled this whole situation.
“It is our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do whatever we want with it. They made a wise decision. They destroyed the balloon over the waters of the Atlantic,” President Biden added.
American F-22 jets destroyed the balloon over Atlantic waters off the coast of South Carolina after traveling across the US. Some lawmakers have criticized the president for not impeaching him sooner.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told BBC News it would be hard to say how the US might handle another situation like this.
The balloon first entered US airspace on January 28 over Alaska and crashed last weekend off the coast of South Carolina.
China has denied that the balloon was used for espionage purposes, saying it was a lost weather device. On the other hand, the United States said that the balloon is part of a fleet of observation balloons that have flown over 5 continents.
The balloon incident has strained US-China relations.