House Adopts Resolution Condemning China for Spy Balloon Unanimously

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A resolution denouncing China for the spy balloon that the military shot down over the weekend in the Atlantic Ocean was unanimously approved by the US House of Representatives.

The House unanimously approved a resolution (H. Res. 104) on Thursday — on a 419-0 margin — “condemning the Chinese Communist Party’s use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over United States territory” and labeled the situation “a brazen violation of United States sovereignty.”

Five days after the American military shot down the Chinese spy balloon over the weekend while it was flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina, the resolution was put to a vote on the House floor.

Nevertheless, even though American officials were aware of the surveillance balloon days before it was shot down, word of it didn’t get out until last Thursday, when American citizens first noticed it drifting over their homes. Days before President Joe Biden was scheduled to deliver his State of the Union speech, this ultimately led to an increase in tensions between Washington and China.

Residents of South Carolina recorded footage of the spy balloon being shot out of the sky by the US military on Saturday:

“An event like this, Mr. Speaker, must not happen again. And it cannot go unanswered,” said Michael McCaul (R-TX), chairman of the foreign affairs committee and a sponsor of the resolution, on the House floor. “We need to display power, force, and strength against the Chinese Communist Party because they only understand one thing: force, and that is projecting power.” McCaul declared:

“They must understand that we do desire peace, but infringing upon our sovereignty leads us down a dangerous path. Our adversaries must believe that any future incursion into American airspace by a spy balloon or any other vehicle will be met with decisive force. And that is why the House should pass this resolution.”

36.6 % of respondents to a recent Trafalgar Group poll conducted this week believed that the Biden administration “appropriately” handled the crisis, while 63.4% believed that “the problem was mishandled” or “should have been dealt with sooner.”

Moreover, 58.8% of respondents concur that “Biden should have taken speedier action to fire down the Chinese surveillance balloon before it even reached U.S. sovereign airspace,” and 59.2% believe that Biden’s handling of the Chinese spy balloon made “America look weak” on the international arena.

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