Downed Chinese Spy Balloon Being Recalled by China After U.S. Navy's Recovery of Surveillance Craft

The shot-down and recovered Chinese spy balloon is being asked to return the surveillance craft to its country of origin.

China officials from Foreign Ministry, spokesperson Mao Ning, discussed the incident after the spycraft shook the response-ability of the U.S. officials.

However, Mao declined to comment on the purpose of the spy balloon, including reports of similar aircraft making routes through North American and South American airspace, according to FOX News.

The Colombia Air Force said that it had tracked the object until it left the country. The agency noted that officials determined that it did not carry any threats to national security.

Colombia's air force said that it is currently investigating its origin.

Mao said on Tuesday that the debris from the Chinese spy balloon should be returned, noting that the material does not belong to the U.S. and "it belongs to China."

Meanwhile, the Pentagon noted that it "acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive" materials from the spycraft.

However, geopolitical experts noted that there is little reason to believe that the recovery efforts were successful as the balloon almost definitely transferred the collected data to China as it flew over several military bases.

U.S. Navy's Recovery of Chinese Spy Balloon

The United States Navy published the first official images of its recovery efforts for the Chinese spy balloon, which was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.

The images showed the Navy members pulling in the surveillance material's outer fabric and shell structure, as cited by Al Jazeera News.

The balloon was measured around 60 meters and was carrying a long sensor package underneath.

U.S. Northern Command head, General Glen VanHerck, said that the Chinese spy balloon was about the size of a small regional jet.

China has earlier claimed that the balloon was an "unmanned civilian airship," primarily used for gathering weather data, and had blown off course.

Chinese Spy Balloon Shot Down

A senior official from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration confirmed that the U.S. intelligence community believes that the balloon was part of a huge aerial surveillance program run by the People's Liberation Army.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted that Congress was briefed in August on China's aerial surveillance program.

VanHerck told CBS News that officials have already gathered "the majority of that debris that fell in the ocean and other places."

The head command also told CBS News' David Martin that the missile used to shoot down the balloon "absolutely" contained a warhead.

VanHerck said that there was a delay in response to the hovering spy balloon as it was not showing any hostile act or hostile intent by flying over the United States.

Meanwhile, the Venezuela Ministry of Foreign Affairs has slammed the decision of the United States to shoot down the balloon, as reported by The New York Times.

The Venezuelan government said in a statement that the U.S. government has once again resorted to the "use of force," instead of treating it with the "seriousness and responsibility" it calls for.

READ MORE: Chinese Spy Balloon Causes Antony Blinken To Postpone China Trip

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Now the Chinese 'spy balloon' is down, what was it for? - from WHAS 11