U.S. shoots down Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic Ocean

China accuses Washington of 'overreacting,' says it may take further actions

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A large balloon drifts above the Kingstown, N.C. area in the U.S., with an airplane and its contrail seen below it.  © AP

KATSUHIKO HARA, Nikkei Asia chief desk editor

NEW YORK -- A suspected Chinese spy balloon was "successfully brought down" on Saturday in U.S. airspace off the coast of South Carolina state, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.

The balloon "was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States," he said, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China, the country's official name.

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