Maine Sen. Susan Collins pressed defense officials for more explanations on Thursday for why a Chinese spy balloon was able to drift for days across the U.S. before being shot down.
Collins, who is the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, told top Pentagon officials that she believes the Chinese spy balloon could have been brought down over remote areas of Alaska or U.S. territorial waters around Alaska. Collins says the U.S. needs to send clear signals to China about U.S. resolve to defend its territory.
"In my judgment, U.S. deterrence was weakened when the spy balloon was permitted to transverse Alaska and several other states, including hovering over sensitive military bases and assets," Collins said.
Pentagon officials told Collins and other senators that the balloon was not brought down earlier because of concerns about the debris causing injuries or deaths on the ground.
