<p>US lawmakers on Thursday unanimously denounced China's use of a suspected spy balloon that flew over North America last week.</p>.<p>The vote allowed lawmakers to agree on a bipartisan stance on Beijing, after several balloon-related political skirmishes.</p>.<p>The balloon's days-long flyover from Alaska to South Carolina captured the attention of regular Americans and officials alike, before the US military shot it down off the country's east coast Saturday.</p>.<p>The House of Representatives passed a resolution "condemning the Chinese Communist Party's use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over United States territory as a brazen violation of United States sovereignty."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/4-previous-instances-of-chinese-balloons-flying-over-us-territory-says-pentagon-1189499.html" target="_blank">4 previous instances of Chinese balloons flying over US territory, says Pentagon </a></strong></p>.<p>Republicans had heavily criticized President Joe Biden's response to the incursion, accusing his administration of being weak in the face of Chinese aggression.</p>.<p>According to Biden, military officials warned that falling debris could have posed a risk to the US population on the ground if the balloon and its high-tech payload -- whose remnants ended up in the Atlantic Ocean -- had been shot down earlier, while it was over land.</p>.<p>For congressman Michael McCaul, the resolution's sponsor, the balloon affair offered a silver lining. "The good news is it galvanized the American people's opposition to Chairman Xi (Jinping)'s communist regime," he said.</p>.<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was "strongly dissatisfied" with the US resolution, calling it "pure political manipulation and hype."</p>.<p>China had insisted the balloon was a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-to-explore-taking-action-against-entities-linked-to-chinese-military-that-supported-balloon-incursion-official-1189686.html" target="_blank">US to explore taking action against entities linked to Chinese military that supported balloon incursion: Official</a></strong></p>.<p>A Pentagon official told a separate Senate hearing Thursday that the United States is still trying to figure out what exactly the balloon, which it has said was deployed for espionage purposes, was looking for.</p>.<p>"We have some very good guesses about that," assistant defense secretary Jedidiah Royal said.</p>.<p>"We are learning more as we exploit the contents" of the balloon, he added.</p>
<p>US lawmakers on Thursday unanimously denounced China's use of a suspected spy balloon that flew over North America last week.</p>.<p>The vote allowed lawmakers to agree on a bipartisan stance on Beijing, after several balloon-related political skirmishes.</p>.<p>The balloon's days-long flyover from Alaska to South Carolina captured the attention of regular Americans and officials alike, before the US military shot it down off the country's east coast Saturday.</p>.<p>The House of Representatives passed a resolution "condemning the Chinese Communist Party's use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over United States territory as a brazen violation of United States sovereignty."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/4-previous-instances-of-chinese-balloons-flying-over-us-territory-says-pentagon-1189499.html" target="_blank">4 previous instances of Chinese balloons flying over US territory, says Pentagon </a></strong></p>.<p>Republicans had heavily criticized President Joe Biden's response to the incursion, accusing his administration of being weak in the face of Chinese aggression.</p>.<p>According to Biden, military officials warned that falling debris could have posed a risk to the US population on the ground if the balloon and its high-tech payload -- whose remnants ended up in the Atlantic Ocean -- had been shot down earlier, while it was over land.</p>.<p>For congressman Michael McCaul, the resolution's sponsor, the balloon affair offered a silver lining. "The good news is it galvanized the American people's opposition to Chairman Xi (Jinping)'s communist regime," he said.</p>.<p>Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing was "strongly dissatisfied" with the US resolution, calling it "pure political manipulation and hype."</p>.<p>China had insisted the balloon was a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes."</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/us-to-explore-taking-action-against-entities-linked-to-chinese-military-that-supported-balloon-incursion-official-1189686.html" target="_blank">US to explore taking action against entities linked to Chinese military that supported balloon incursion: Official</a></strong></p>.<p>A Pentagon official told a separate Senate hearing Thursday that the United States is still trying to figure out what exactly the balloon, which it has said was deployed for espionage purposes, was looking for.</p>.<p>"We have some very good guesses about that," assistant defense secretary Jedidiah Royal said.</p>.<p>"We are learning more as we exploit the contents" of the balloon, he added.</p>