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US holds drills in South China Sea amid tensions with China

US holds drills in South China Sea amid tensions with China
The chinese balloon which had so many people looking up then debating how it should come down. They shot at it. That balloon is still making political waves even as parts of it are getting pulled up from deep in the atlantic ocean. As we made clear last week if china threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did. It made *** not so veiled appearance in President Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday night and made fodder for criticism of that address by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This is the atrocity that's happening here to America and if we don't speak stronger china will continue to do but it's not just *** U. S. Situation. The NATO secretary general said at *** State Department briefing pointing out what he alleged were increased chinese intelligence activities in europe and saying everyone has to be vigilant. We need to be aware of the constant risk over chinese intelligence. The world expects china, the United States to manage our relationship responsibly. The US Secretary of State says china's broader surveillance program has now violated the sovereignty of countries across five continents. And that the biden administration is talking both with Congress and with dozens of countries to share information more is being learned by the hour. He says *** silver lining to that unwelcome white balloon. The chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to *** request for *** comment about Lincoln's allegations, I'm Emily Schmidt reporting
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US holds drills in South China Sea amid tensions with China
Video above: US says China balloon could collect intelligenceThe United States Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting "integrated expeditionary strike force operations" in the South China Sea.It said exercises involving ships, ground forces and aircraft took place Saturday but gave no details on when they began or whether they had ended.China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and strongly objects to military activity by other nations in the contested waterway through which $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.Video below: China's spy balloon saga barely mentioned by BidenThe U.S. takes no official position on sovereignty in the South China Sea, but maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight must be preserved. Several times a year, it sends ships sailing past fortified Chinese outposts in the Spratly Islands, prompting protests from Beijing.The U.S. has also been strengthening its defense alliance with the Philippines, which has faced encroachment on islands and fisheries by the Chinese coast guard and nominally civilian but government-backed fleets.The U.S. military exercises were planned in advance. They come as already tense relations between Washington and Beijing have been exacerbated by a diplomatic row sparked by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend in U.S. airspace off the coast of South Carolina.The U.S. said the unmanned balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals, but Beijing insists it was a weather research airship that had accidently blown off course.The balloon prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing aimed at easing tensions.Video below: Witness captures moment suspected spy balloon is shot down After first issuing a highly rare expression of regret over the balloon, China has toughened its rhetoric, calling the U.S. shootdown an overreaction and a violation of international norms. China's defense minister refused to take a phone call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the matter.The United States has since blacklisted six Chinese entities it said were linked to Beijing's aerospace programs as part of its response to the incident. The House of Representatives also voted unanimously to condemn China for a "brazen violation" of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to "deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns."The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon said. The U.S. says Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.In its news release, the 7th Fleet said the joint operation had "established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability.""As a ready response force, we underpin a broad spectrum of missions including landing Marines ashore, humanitarian disaster relief, and deterring potential adversaries through visible and present combat power," the release said.

Video above: US says China balloon could collect intelligence

The United States Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

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The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting "integrated expeditionary strike force operations" in the South China Sea.

It said exercises involving ships, ground forces and aircraft took place Saturday but gave no details on when they began or whether they had ended.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and strongly objects to military activity by other nations in the contested waterway through which $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.

Video below: China's spy balloon saga barely mentioned by Biden

The U.S. takes no official position on sovereignty in the South China Sea, but maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight must be preserved. Several times a year, it sends ships sailing past fortified Chinese outposts in the Spratly Islands, prompting protests from Beijing.

The U.S. has also been strengthening its defense alliance with the Philippines, which has faced encroachment on islands and fisheries by the Chinese coast guard and nominally civilian but government-backed fleets.

The U.S. military exercises were planned in advance. They come as already tense relations between Washington and Beijing have been exacerbated by a diplomatic row sparked by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend in U.S. airspace off the coast of South Carolina.

The U.S. said the unmanned balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals, but Beijing insists it was a weather research airship that had accidently blown off course.

The balloon prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing aimed at easing tensions.

Video below: Witness captures moment suspected spy balloon is shot down

After first issuing a highly rare expression of regret over the balloon, China has toughened its rhetoric, calling the U.S. shootdown an overreaction and a violation of international norms. China's defense minister refused to take a phone call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the matter.

The United States has since blacklisted six Chinese entities it said were linked to Beijing's aerospace programs as part of its response to the incident. The House of Representatives also voted unanimously to condemn China for a "brazen violation" of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to "deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns."

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon said. The U.S. says Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

In its news release, the 7th Fleet said the joint operation had "established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability."

"As a ready response force, we underpin a broad spectrum of missions including landing Marines ashore, humanitarian disaster relief, and deterring potential adversaries through visible and present combat power," the release said.