Watch Senate Hearing on Alleged Chinese Spy Balloon

The Senate on Thursday held its first hearing on a Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States last week before it was shot down over the weekend.

The Senate Appropriations Committee heard testimony from senior Pentagon officials, including Lieutenant General Douglas Sims II, Director of Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Vice Admiral Sarah Joyner, Director of Force Structure, Resources and Estimates for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Staff.

The hearings will take place as the US Navy and US Coast Guard complete an operation to recover a downed spy balloon about six miles off the coast of South Carolina. On Saturday, Biden gave the order to remove a 200-foot spy balloon from the sky. As a result of the operation, the F-22 fighter made a hole in the bottom of the balloon with a sidewinder missile.

US Air Force brig Pentagon spokesman. General Pat Ryder said on Wednesday that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called his Chinese counterpart on Saturday after a military mission. Chinese officials did not return the call.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday that the US intelligence community is looking into the balloon and that the US will continue to inform allies, as well as countries around the world, that may be victims of Chinese espionage.

“The United States was not the only target of this broader program that violated the sovereignty of countries on five continents,” Blinken said at the State Department.

“In our commitment, we hear again from our partners that the world expects China and the United States to manage our relationship responsibly. This is exactly what we intended to do. We continue to urge China to do the same,” he added.