Navy divers work to search for the wreckage of a Chinese spy balloon with the Coast Guard and Navy ships in place

Navy divers are working to recover the wreckage of a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by the US off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

US Navy and Coast Guard ships arrived at the site where the balloon hit the water on Saturday before establishing a perimeter around the area. Pentagon officials say recovery efforts are expected to be relatively easy thanks to a shallow depth of just under 50 feet, but it could still take several days.

The US military put several Navy and Coast Guard ships on alert before shooting down the balloon. According to the New York Times, recovery work began later Saturday and continues into Sunday, with divers encountering little hurdle other than cold water temperatures.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement that the balloon used to monitor “strategic installations” in the US was “an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.” President Biden ordered the balloon to be shot down last week, but the military waited until the ship was above open water.

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President Biden ordered the balloon to be shot down last week, but the military waited until the ship was above open water.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/Larry Mayer/The Billings Gazette via AP/Keith Tsuji/Getty Images)

Photographs of a downed Chinese spy balloon taken in Ainora, South Carolina.
(Fox News)

Defense Department officials said the US limited the balloon’s ability to collect information during its flight over the US, but did not elaborate.

“I also note that although we have taken all necessary measures to protect against [Chinese] collection of confidential information from the observer balloon, the flight of the observer balloon over the territory of the United States was of intelligence importance to us, the official said. “I can’t go into details, but we were able to study and study the ball and its equipment in depth, which was valuable.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill raised the question of why Biden allowed the balloon to fly across the entire continental United States before shooting it down. The Americans first spotted the craft in the air over Montana, although the Pentagon said it tracked it ahead of time.

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Rep. Mike Rogers, Alabama, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, claims the Biden administration “hoped to hide” the existence of the balloon from the Americans as it flew from the West Coast to the East Coast.

A US Air Force F-22 similar to the one used to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon.
(U.S. Air Force photo 2nd Lt. Samuel Ekholm)

The MP called Biden weak for letting the balloon cross the country before shooting it down. He also called for a clearer look at what intelligence could have been gathered by the ship.

“I applaud our military personnel for successfully completing the mission to neutralize the spy balloon sent by the Chinese Communist Party,” Rogers said in a statement. “I remain deeply concerned about the Biden administration’s decision to allow the spy balloon to cross the United States.”

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“The Biden administration reportedly became aware of the CCP spy balloon on January 28—almost a week before the people of Montana noticed the balloon loitering over their state. Understandably, the Biden administration hoped to hide this national security failure from Congress and the American people. .Now the White House must give answers as to why they decided to allow the CCP spy balloon to cross the United States and what damage our national security has suffered as a result of this decision. an example of the weakness of the Biden administration,” he continued.