The US military said it was looking for the wreckage of a downed Chinese reconnaissance balloon in a spy drama that has further strained Sino-US relations.

The US Navy is working to recover the balloon and its payload, with the Coast Guard securing the operation, North American Aerospace Defense Command Commander Gen. Glenn VanHurke said Sunday, according to a Guardian report.

A possible successful recovery could give the United States a glimpse of China’s spying capabilities, though US officials downplay the balloon’s impact on national security.

A senior U.S. Department of Defense official told reporters that the nature of the wreckage is still being assessed, but that forces working at the scene, including Navy divers, will “strive to collect all debris and any materials that may provide information.” document released by the US authorities.

A US Air Force fighter jet shot down a balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, a week after it first entered US airspace near Alaska. VanHerk said the incident took place over US territorial waters.

China protested the response as “obvious overreaction,” but analysts said any Beijing retaliation would likely be carefully planned so as not to worsen relations between the two countries.

On Monday, China urged the US not to escalate tensions and harm Beijing’s interests.

“China strongly opposes this and protests against it,” Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said in a speech in front of the US embassy in Beijing on Monday. “The Chinese government is closely monitoring the development of the situation.”

Republican Democratic Declaration of War

On Sunday, Republican lawmakers slammed President Joe Biden for his silence on a hot air balloon crash as it flew over the United States, accusing him of showing weakness towards China and initially trying to keep the violation of US airspace under wraps.

Former President Donald Trump and his former Director of National Intelligence under his presidency, John Ratcliffe, disputed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s assessment that similar balloons flew over the United States during Trump’s presidency.

“China respected TRUMP too much (sic) for this to happen and NEVER (sic) did it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

But Republican Rep. Michael Waltz backed Austin, telling the Washington Post that the Pentagon had warned Congress that Chinese balloons had been sighted several times near the United States during Trump’s tenure.

He said the balloons had been spotted near Texas and twice near Florida, and earlier near Hawaii and Guam.

Democrats said Biden’s decision not to shoot down the balloon until it was over the United States protected civilians from debris.

“The president has asked that this be handled in a way that balances out all the various risks,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on CNN’s State of the Union program.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the Republican criticism “hasty and politically motivated.”

The Pentagon will inform senators about the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said.

Republican Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he believes China is using the balloon to find ways to counter US nuclear weapons and missile defense systems.

“The president let this get into our most secret places, and he wasn’t even going to tell the American people about it,” Turner said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Republican Marco Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told ABC News This Week that China is trying to send a message that it may enter US airspace. Rubio said he doubted the wreckage of the balloon would make much of a difference in understanding China’s movements.

Source: Guardian