US publishes photo showing Chinese balloon before it was shot down

The Pentagon has published a picture showing what US officials suspect was a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US territorial waters at the beginning of the month. The image shows the aircraft floating above US mainland on February 3, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The photo was taken from the cockpit of a US military reconnaissance aircraft. Just one day later, the US military shot down the Chinese aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the state of South Carolina. The recovery of the balloon's debris was completed at the end of last week. 'The majority of the balloon, including the payload was recovered,' Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing on Wednesday. They are now being evaluated by the FBI. The incident has further strained the tense relations between the US and China. Washington has accused Beijing of having used the aircraft for spying on its military infrastructure. China has rejected the claim, saying the balloon was a civilian research balloon that had been blown off course 'by force majeure' and had inadvertently entered US airspace.