The US Navy divers are still searching for the debris of the Chinese surveillance balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.
According to the US Navy officials, recovery ships are being used to gather the remains spread out over 7 miles of ocean. The recovery process is expected to be done "fairly quickly."
Authorities expect to find equipment capable of taking detailed photographs and other sensors from the remains. The US lawmakers also demanding to know whether the spy balloon's payload had technology from the US or any of its allies, Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources with the Biden admnistration.
The sensors are reportedly lying in 50 feet of water, and the US Navy has employed divers and unmanned equipement to haul it up. Recovering the remains of the balloon is expected to give the US an insight into the technology and spying capabilities of China.
The balloon was shot down by the US on Saturday, a day after the Pentagon announced it spotted the balloon hovering over sensitive spots of the country. Though China claimed the aircraft was used for meterological purposes and had drifted off course, the US maintained that it was indeed a spy balloon.
The incident triggered a fresh row between the already strained relations between the US and China, following which Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his planned visit to Beijing. China reacted to the shooting down of the balloon with anger, calling it an "overreaction" and threatened the US of consequence.
China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng also lodged a solemn representation to the US Embassy in Beijing on Sunday, accusing the US of damaging both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing bilateral relations since the Bali meeting."
"China urges the US not to take further actions that harm China’s interests, and not to escalate or expand the tension… [China] will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely defend the interests and dignity of China, and reserves the right to make further necessary reactions," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the Republicans have lashed out at Joe Biden over his handling of the balloon. Marco Rubio, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, criticised the U.S. President for waiting so long to alert the public as the alleged spy balloon made its "unprecedented" flight over America, saying this amounted to "dereliction of duty."
Rubio said the flight was a "brazen effort by Beijing timed to embarrass Biden just before his State of the Union message on Tuesday, and to disrupt a since-canceled China visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken."
