US President Joe Biden said Saturday the United States would “negotiate” with the Chinese balloon that has entered US airspace, without giving further details.
• Also read: Chinese spy balloons, sophisticated tools that are difficult to shoot down
• Also read: A second Chinese balloon is flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon
• Also read: Chinese balloons and espionage
“We will take care of it,” said Mr. Biden, asked to respond to the affair that shook relations between Washington and Beijing and caused the postponement of a visit by American diplomatic chief Antony Blinken to China.
The American President had just landed aboard Air Force One in Syracuse, New York State, where he is scheduled to spend a few hours. After these few words he immediately got into a car.
According to American media, the Chinese balloon, which the Pentagon has dubbed a “spy” balloon, was spotted over North Carolina on the east coast of the United States on Saturday.
Beijing, while acknowledging that it was indeed a device made in China, assured that it was a “civilian aircraft used for research purposes, mainly meteorological”.
The plane “deviated from its trajectory,” added a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, expressing his country’s “regret” for this “involuntary” violation of US airspace.
The balloon notably flew over the state of Montana (West), home to nuclear missile silos, before moving east.
So far, a decision has been made not to shoot it down because of the risks posed to people on the ground by possible debris, a senior Pentagon official said.