China says it reserves right to respond to downing of surveillance balloon

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, taking questions about the Chinese surveillance balloon, said the first step should be getting it out of U.S. skies.

"Job One is getting it out of our airspace," he said.

Blinken said they've made it clear to China the action is "clearly unacceptable" and addressed further his decision to delay traveling to Beijing until conditions allow for a visit.

"Any country that has its airspace violated in this way, I think would respond similarly," he said. "And I can only imagine what the reaction would be in China if they were on the other end."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the surveillance balloon an "irresponsible act" by the People's Republic of China.

Blinken said he made clear to Wang Yi, the director of China's Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, that the balloon's presence is "a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law ... and that the PRC's decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have."

Blinken postponed his first official trip to China amid the controversy.

The secretary of state said his team had been engaging "for some time" with their counterparts in Beijing to prepare but have now "concluded that conditions were not conducive for a constructive visit at this time."

The remarks were made Friday during a joint press availability with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin at the State Department.

President Joe Biden was first briefed about the Chinese surveillance balloon on Tuesday, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, two days before the news was publicly confirmed by U.S. officials.

"He asked the military to present options," she told reporters in a gaggle on Air Force One. "It was the strong recommendation by Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, the commander of Northern Command, not to take kinetic action because of the risk to safety and security of the people on the ground. President Biden took that recommendation from the military seriously."

"The president will always put the safety of the security of the American people first," she said.

Jean-Pierre said Biden continues to receive regular briefings from national security team, and that he "agreed" with Secretary of State Blinken's decision to delay his trip to China.

"We are tracking closely and keeping all options on the table," the press secretary said.

President Joe Biden didn’t answer questions reporters shouted about the Chinese surveillance balloon as he left the White House and boarded Marine One shortly after 1 p.m. Friday.

Biden has yet to publicly comment on the balloon since it was confirmed to be flying over the continental U.S. by officials on Thursday.

Biden is heading to Philadelphia, where he and Vice President Kamala Harris will appear at an infrastructure event in the afternoon and then later will speak at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting.