{"id":78199,"date":"2023-02-04T22:54:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T22:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:45:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:45:06","slug":"us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden, after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America, becoming the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. At about 2:40 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than they had expected. Still, it was not immediately clear how long the recovery would take. The Navy is taking the lead, supported by the Coast Guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,\u201d Biden said after getting off Air Force One en route to Camp David.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over toward them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up \u2014 and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI did not anticipate waking up to be in a \u2018Top Gun\u2019 movie today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. defense and military officials said Saturday the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The balloon <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19\">was spotted Thursday over Montana<\/a>, home to one of America\u2019s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, a senior defense official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing operation and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China has continued to claim the balloon was merely a weather research \u201cairship\u201d that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand \u2014 as well as China\u2019s contention it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The public disclosure of the balloon on Thursday prompted the cancellation of a visit by <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6\">U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken<\/a> to Beijing for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,\u201d China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. \u201cWe now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,\u201d Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was \u201can irresponsible act and that (China\u2019s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn\u2019t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon\u2019s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to \u201csmear\u201d it because of the balloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In preparation for the operation Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions. The FAA and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the giant deflated balloon descending like a ribbon toward the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Swanson said he watched the balloon deflate instantly from his house in Myrtle Beach as fighter jets circled around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen it deflated it was pretty close to instantaneous,\u201d he said. \u201cOne second it\u2019s there like a tiny moon and the next second it\u2019s gone.\u201d Swanson added that a trail of smoke followed the balloon as it dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated any debris field would be substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Hagerstown, M.D., Tara Copp in Washington, Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Huizhong Wu in Taipei and researcher Henry Hou in Beijing contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":117222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,93,25],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1179,397,2484,3218,1365],"class_list":["post-78199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MGRC43A73NHIVJYOPEDE2VDHOU","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-04T22:54:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T00:45:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zeke Miller, The Associated Press, Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press, Colleen Long, The Associated Press, Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press, Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zeke Miller, The Associated Press, Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press, Colleen Long, The Associated Press, Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press, Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-02-04T22:54:02+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:45:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1001,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Middle Column\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions - Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-02-04T22:54:02+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T00:45:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/04\\\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Flashpoints\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/flashpoints\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"flashpoints\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Marine Corps Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/marine-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Marine Corps Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions - Marine Corps Times","description":"Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions","og_description":"Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/","og_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","article_published_time":"2023-02-04T22:54:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T00:45:06+00:00","author":"Zeke Miller, The Associated Press, Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press, Colleen Long, The Associated Press, Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press, Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zeke Miller, The Associated Press, Michael Balsamo, The Associated Press, Colleen Long, The Associated Press, Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press, Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions","datePublished":"2023-02-04T22:54:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:45:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/"},"wordCount":1001,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily News Roundup","Flashpoints","Home","Middle Column","Newsletters"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/","name":"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions - Marine Corps Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-02-04T22:54:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T00:45:06+00:00","description":"Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised the best time for the operation would be when it was over water.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/02\/04\/us-downs-chinese-balloon-a-flashpoint-in-us-china-tensions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Flashpoints","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/","ad_zone":"flashpoints"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","name":"Marine Corps Times","description":"Marine Corps - Independent News For Marines | Marine Corps Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#organization","name":"Marine Corps Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/marine-logo-white.png","caption":"Marine Corps Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23035738377701.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Marine Corps Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78203,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78199\/revisions\/78203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78199"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=78199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}