The US military

shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on Saturday, after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted that the airship was used for meteorological and other scientific purposes and had strayed into US airspace "completely accidentally."

^{via Reuters}

• Response: China’s Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said China "reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations." China’s Foreign Ministry accused the US of "overreacting" and "seriously violating international practice."