China protests U.S. downing of "civilian" balloon

China said Monday it has lodged a protest over the U.S. downing of a Chinese balloon used for what it called "civilian" research purposes, as American military personnel sought to recover debris from it off the coast of South Carolina.Vice Chinese Foreign Minister Xie Feng on Sunday made "solemn representations" to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, saying that Washington "obviously overreacted and seriously violated" the spirit of international law by shooting down the balloon a day earlier, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.The United States suspects the balloon was used for surveillanc…READ FULL ARTICLE