U.S. fighter jets shot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon off the South Carolina coast on Saturday, capping days of waiting as it traversed the country and prompted new tension in relations with China.
President Joe Biden said he ordered the Pentagon on Wednesday to shoot down the balloon as soon as possible “without doing damage to anyone on the ground.” The military decided the best window was on Saturday while the balloon was within the 12-mile limit of U.S. territorial waters.
“They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it, and we’ll have more to report on this a little later,” Biden told reporters.
