'Escalation': Australia responds to balloons 'Escalation': Australia's response to balloons China's two-word response when the balloon crashed China's two-word response when the balloon crashed 11km fragment of Chinese 'spy balloon'. 11km fragment of Chinese 'spy balloon'. A senior senator has claimed that China is deliberately flying spy balloons over the US to send a message that the US is in "decline". "They did it on purpose," Sen. Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the United States over the weekend.
"They know it's going to be found, they know the U.S. government has to expose it, people are going to see it in the skies. The message they're trying to send is what they believe internally, that America is a once great superpower that's now It's hollowed out; it's going down," Mr. Rubio, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told ABC News, reporting the New York Post.
Mr. Rubio dismissed China's excuse that the balloon was a "civilian aircraft" that went off course, adding that the Biden administration decided to initially keep silent about the object after it entered U.S. airspace until it left the East Coast. Its downing directly affected China's intentions.
“The message [China] is trying to send to the world is, 'Look, these guys can't even do anything about balloons flying over U.S. airspace,'” Mr. Rubio said.
"If anything happens in the Indo-Pacific, how can you count on [the Democratic-led government]? How can you count on them if they don't do anything about balloons flying over U.S. airspace? If the Chinese come into their territory, they will How to aid Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan or India?"
Two U.S. Air Force fighter jets shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday afternoon local time. By then, it had sailed across the country ــ since its March 28 launch.
Mr Rubio said he wanted to hear an explanation from US President Joe Biden’s administration on why the balloon wasn’t dealt with sooner.
The message China is trying to send the world is, ‘Look, these guys can’t even do anything about a balloon flying over US airspace,’” Mr Rubio said.
“How can you possibly count on the Democrat-led government if something were to happen in the Indo-Pacific region? How can you count on them if they’re not going to do anything about a balloon over US airspace? How are they going to come to the aid of Taiwan or stand with the Philippines or Japan or India when the Chinese move on their territory?”
Two US Air Force fighter jets downed the balloon on Saturday afternoon, local time, off the South Carolina coast. At that point, it had already sailed across the country – flying over a number of military installations – since being first spotted near the Aleutian Islands in Alaska on January 28.
Mr Rubio said he wanted to hear an explanation from US President Joe Biden’s administration on why the balloon wasn’t dealt with sooner.