Rubio claims China sent balloon to highlight US “decline.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, the leading Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, stated on Sunday that China purposely floated a spy balloon over the United States to convey the message that the United States is “in decline.”

“They did so intentionally. They knew that it would be discovered, that the US government would have to reveal it, and that others would observe it in the sky. “The message they were trying to send is what they believe internally, which is that the United States is a once-great superpower that has been hollowed out and is in decline,” a Florida politician stated on ABC News’ “This Week.”

Rubio refuted China’s claim that the balloon was a “civilian aircraft” that had strayed from its intended path, adding that the Biden administration’s decision to initially keep quiet about the object after it entered US airspace and not shoot it down until it was off the East Coast played right into China’s hands.

Rubio told host Jonathan Karl that the message China is attempting to portray is, “Look, these guys can’t even stop a balloon from flying over US airspace.”

“How could you depend on [the Democratic White House] if something were to occur in the Indo-Pacific region? How can you rely on them if they won’t do anything about a balloon flying over US airspace? How would they come to Taiwan’s rescue or stand with the Philippines, Japan, or India if the Chinese invade their territory?’ he questioned.

Two US Air Force fighter jets shot down the balloon Saturday afternoon off the coast of South Carolina, after it had sailed across the country at an altitude of approximately 60,000 feet and flown over a number of military installations since being spotted near the Aleutian Islands in Alaska on January 28.

Rubio stated that he desires an explanation from the Biden administration as to why the balloon was not brought down sooner.

Rubio stated, “I’d love to hear from military officials about why this wasn’t addressed earlier.” “What possibilities existed at that time? Perhaps in a closed session or with the benefit of hindsight, they’ll come up with some really compelling reasons why it couldn’t be done.”

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, also criticized the White House for what he termed a lack of “urgency” in dealing with the Chinese balloon, telling NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the balloon should have been brought down immediately upon entering US airspace in Alaska.

According to Turner, the course of the balloon brought it over critical US missile defense and nuclear weapons facilities, and he believes the Chinese were attempting to learn “how to defeat the command and control” of the United States’ most sensitive military systems.

“This is a crisis that the president should have addressed immediately and not waited until it reached the Atlantic Ocean,” he said.

President Biden stated on Saturday that he gave the order to shoot down the balloon, which was described as being as large as three buses, on Wednesday, when media reports revealed that people had seen it in the sky over Montana, despite being advised by the Pentagon to wait until it was over water in order to protect the safety of people on the ground.

Turner stated, “There are no justifications here.

“They understood what it was. “They know what the balloon is, its capabilities, and its manoeuvrability because they have observed China’s previous actions,” Turner added.

“They ought to have been ready. They appear not only unprepared but also to be waiting: “Where will the balloon go?” What are their intentions? “However, this is not how you should view the actions of an adversary,” he stated.

A senior Defense Department official told reporters during a briefing on Saturday that the military gathered intelligence on the balloon and concluded that it possessed no greater potential to gather information than the satellites China already possessed.

As the United States waited for the object to cross the Atlantic, “we also took immediate steps to protect against the balloon’s collection of sensitive information, thereby diminishing its intelligence value to the PRC,” one official added.

“Shooting down the balloon neutralized any intelligence value it could have produced, preventing it from returning to the PRC,” a government official explained.

“Moreover, shooting down the balloon could allow the United States to recover sensitive PRC equipment,” the official stated.

But Turner stated on Sunday, “Clearly, the president bringing it down over the Atlantic is similar to tackling the quarterback after the game has ended.

“The satellite’s mission had been accomplished,” he stated.

»Rubio claims China sent balloon to highlight US “decline.”«

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