Suspected Chinese spy balloon 'not a major breach': Biden

President Joe Biden, under fire from some lawmakers, said on February 9 he did not view a suspected Chinese spy balloon that transited the United States before it was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean to have been a major security breach. Biden, who has sought to maintain communications with China and not allow tensions with Beijing to get out of control, said in a Noticias Telemundo interview that he did not regret shooting down the balloon sooner. He said U.S. military officials were worried that by shooting it down over land, the balloon and its parts could drop into a populated area. The 200-foot-tall (61-meter) balloon, along with its undercarriage of electronic gadgetry, was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. The U.S. military has been recovering as many parts as possible.