McConnell’s remarks added to the chorus of concern coming from both political parties over the events.
On Feb. 4, the United States took out, off the coast of South Carolina, what has been confirmed to be a Chinese spy balloon—and within the past three days, the United States shot down three more objects, which have not been clearly identified, in Canadian and U.S. airspace.
“What in the world is going on? Has the Biden administration just dialed the sensitivity of our radars all the way up? If so, what are the objects that we are just now noticing for the very first time?” McConnell said in the Senate chamber.
“Are they benign science projects and wayward weather balloons, or something more nefarious that we’ve somehow been missing all this time?
McConnell added, “President Biden owes the American people some answers. What are we shooting down? Where do they come from? Whether they are hostile or not, is there coherent guidance about when to shoot them down? … How did we get into a position where the greatest nation in the world doesn’t know what is traversing our own airspace?”
The recent frequency of the U.S. military’s encounters with the objects—and the lack of information and explanation coming out of the Biden administration regarding the events—has prompted serious-minded government officials to ask questions and propose possibilities that in the past had only been bandied about by conspiracy theorists and UFO hunters.
Beijing’s first spy balloon drifted across the United States for a week before being downed on Feb. 4.
The incident has increased friction between Washington and Beijing, with China’s foreign ministry saying in a statement, “China had clearly asked the U.S. to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner. The U.S. had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting.”
Sen. McConnell had a different take on the U.S. response to how the Biden administration handled the matter.
“As usual when it comes to national defense and foreign policy, the Biden Administration reacted at first too indecisively and then too late,” said McConnell in a statement.
“We should not have let the People’s Republic of China make a mockery of our airspace,” he said.
“It defies belief to suggest there was nowhere between the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and the coast of Carolina where this balloon could have been shot down right away without endangering Americans or Canadians. This was a reminder of the PRC’s brazenness and President Biden missed the opportunity to defend our sovereignty, send a message of strength, and bolster deterrence.”
