Photo: Video clip
The Chinese balloon that was shot down in skies over the Atlantic, failed to cause much damage to the United States and gather a large amount of intelligence, John Kirby, the White House National Security Council's strategic communications coordinator, said during a regular briefing.
According to him, this is not the first time he has had to respond to criticism of US President Joe Biden's administration on the matter.
According to him, “not a single American, not on earth or in the sky” was injured by the balloon.
“The Chinese balloon did not collect any significant information,” Kirby said.
Sightings of a Chinese balloon over the US ground were previously reported. It flew over the Aleutian Islands and Canadian territory before entering the atmosphere over the northern states of the United States, according to the US Department of Defense. The Pentagon claimed the ball belonged to China and destroyed it. Later, the Pentagon said that US experts were able to study valuable equipment from the downed Chinese balloon, the Pentagon said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry initially called for an end to speculation about the appearance of the alleged Chinese balloon over the United States until all the circumstances are clear. Afterwards, the State Department admitted that the balloon was indeed Chinese. They clarified that the balloon was used for scientific research and ended up over the United States because it deviated from its course due to the wind.
The balloon story took place on the eve of a planned visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. He informed the Chinese side of the decision to postpone the trip due to the balloon situation.