Why the US Waited to Shoot Down China’s Balloon in the Sky

The recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had been flying over the United States sparked debates over the timing of the action, with some lawmakers and industry experts calling for the Biden administration to take swift action. President Biden, however, stated that he had ordered the military to shoot down the balloon “as soon as possible” after he was briefed on the matter on Wednesday.

“Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, echoing the President’s stance.

National security officials had warned President Biden that the best time to take action was when the balloon was over water due to the size and altitude of the aircraft and its surveillance payload, which posed an undue risk to people if it was shot down over land. This was also confirmed by Austin in a statement.

However, the decision faced criticism from some Republican lawmakers who claimed that the administration should have taken care of the balloon much sooner and accused the President of an “embarrassing display of weakness.”


“The [administration] should have taken care of this before it became a national security threat,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), who serves as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed deep concern over the decision to allow the balloon to traverse the U.S. and accused the Biden administration of attempting to hide the matter from Congress and the American people.

Despite criticism from some Republicans, several Democratic lawmakers defended President Biden’s decision, stating that it was based on safety concerns and that their Republican colleagues were “playing politics” with the issue.

“Glad that [the president] shot down the Chinese balloon but these aerial threats are not new,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.). “We need to take them seriously and implement new measures to prevent surveillance in our airspace.”


Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) also expressed his support for the action and called for the Chinese Communist Party to explain the violation of U.S. airspace and for the U.S. to take measures to prevent it from happening in the future.

The Chinese government acknowledged the balloon as one of its own and claimed that it was primarily used for meteorological research and had been blown off course. However, the Biden administration and lawmakers have maintained that the balloon was used for surveilling “strategic sites” in the U.S. and have deemed its presence in U.S. airspace as a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law.

“We have noted the [People’s Republic of China] statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law,” said a senior State Department official.

In conclusion, the shooting down of the Chinese surveillance balloon has sparked a variety of reactions from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, with some defending the administration’s actions, while others criticize it for being too slow to take action or hiding the situation from the public. Regardless, the situation serves as a reminder of the importance of national security and the need to take appropriate measures to protect the safety and security of the American people.