>>> CHINA ADMITTING ANOTHER BALLOON, THE ONE SPOTTED
FLYING OVER THE SKIES OF LATIN AMERICA DOES BELONG TO THEM.
CHINESE OFFICIALS SAY THAT BALLOON WAS BEING USED FOR
FLIGHT TESTS. THE PENTAGON, HOWEVER, CLAIMS IT
IS ANOTHER SURVEILLANCE BALLOON. >> THE PENTAGON NOT BUYING
CHINESE EXPLANATIONS. JUST TWO DAYS AGO YOU WILL
PROBABLY REMEMBER THE U.S. MILITARY FIGHTER JET AN F-22
WITH A SINGLE MISSILE SHOT DOWN A SUSPECTED CHINESE SURVEILLANCE
BALLOON SIX MILES OFF THE COAST OF NORTH CAROLINA.
THE NAVY IS NOW SEARCHING FOR WHAT REMAINS OF THAT BALLOON ON
THE SURFACE AND BELOW THE WAVES. CNN'S DIANNE GALLAGHER JOINS US
LIVE FROM A BOAT NEAR THAT SEARCH.
I KNOW THEY'RE KEEPING YOU AT A DISTANCE, I'M CURIOUS WHAT
YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT EXACTLY AND HOW MUCH
ARE U.S. NAVY DIVERS HOPING TO FIND.
>> Reporter: SO, JIM, ABOUT HALF AN HOUR AGO THE CAPTAIN OF OUR
BOAT, THE LINDA ANN, WE ARE ON A SHRIMP BOAT HERE OFF THE COAST
OF MYRTLE BEACH, WAS ESSENTIALLY TOLD BY THE COAST GUARD THIS IS
AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET. I CAN'T MOVE VERY MUCH BECAUSE
THE CELL SIGNAL FOR ME TO CONNECT WITH YOU A A LITTLE
DODGY. SO I'M GOING TO JUST DO LIMITED
MOTIONS TO LET YOU KNOW BEHIND ME YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SEE VERY
MUCH IN THE DISTANCE THERE ARE SOME COAST GUARD VESSELS THAT
HAVE SET UP A PERIMETER. WE ARE ROUGHLY THREE MILES OFF
THE COAST OF THE MYRTLE BEACH SHORELINE IN SOUTH CAROLINA AT
THE MOMENT. THAT PERIMETER IS SET UP.
WITHIN THAT PERIMETER THAT'S WHERE THE RECOVERY EFFORTS ARE
TAKING PLACE. ACCORDING TO A U.S. SENIOR
MILITARY OFFICIAL WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 47 FEET OF WATER, WHICH IS
A LOT MORE SHALLOW THAN THEY HAD ANTICIPATED WHEN THEY SHOT DOWN
THAT SUSPECTED CHINESE SPY BALLOON.
WE ARE TOLD THAT THEY ARE GOING TO USE NAVY DIVERS AS WELL AS
UNMANNED VESSELS TO TRY TO BRING THE STRUCTURE UP.
THEY WILL PUT IT ON A SALVAGE VESSEL, THEY WILL TAKE THAT,
THEN, BACK TO THE QUANTICO AREA SO INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS CAN
EXAMINE WHAT THEY BRING UP. I CAN TELL YOU ALSO LAST NIGHT
IN THE NORTH MYRTLE BEACH AREA WE SAW WHAT SEEMED TO BE ITEMS
THAT WERE BEING BROUGHT UP, BUT CNN WAS NOT ABLE TO
INDEPENDENTLY CONFIRM. WE DID REACH OUT TO THE U.S.
NAVY TO SEE IF, IN FACT, THAT'S WHAT THOSE U.S. NAVY OFFICIALS
WERE BRINGING UP BUT THEY WOULD NOT CONFIRM IT FOR US.
I CAN TELL YOU OUT HERE OUR CAPTAIN SAYS THAT THIS AREA
RIGHT NOW AT THIS TIME OF DAY IS USUALLY VERY BUSY.
WE ARE THE ONLY VESSEL OUT HERE ASIDE FROM THAT PERIMETER.
THE COAST GUARD SAID THIS IS AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET.
>> DIANNE GALLAGHER, APPRECIATE IT.
THANK YOU. >>> WITH ME NOW TO DISCUSS WHAT
HAPPENS NEXT RETIRED ARMY MAJOR GENERAL SPIDER MARKS AND ZOLAN
CANO YOUNGS. GENERAL, IF I CAN BEGIN WITH
YOU, THE POSSIBILITY OF RETALIATION AND ESCALATION
WHENEVER YOU HAVE A SUPER POWER FIRING AT ANOTHER SUPER POWER.
I WANT TO PLAY BRIEFLY AN INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED A NUMBER
OF YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS ON A U.S. SURVEILLANCE FLIGHT AROUND
CHINA IN 2015 WHEN THE CHINESE NAVY WARPED US AWAY.
THESE FLIGHTS CONTINUE EVERY DAY.
HAVE A QUICK LISTEN HERE. >> THIS IS THE CHINESE NAVY.
PLEASE GO -- >> THEY WERE WARNING AWAY A U.S.
BESIDEN SURVEILLANCE JET I WAS ON AT THE TIME.
THE PA BESIDEN IS A CREW ED FLIGHT.
CHINA MADE A NOT TO VEILED THREAT RESERVING THE RIGHTS TO
TAKE ACTION AGAINST U.S. SURVEILLANCE FLIGHTS.
I WONDER WHAT YOU RATE THE RISK OF CHINESE RETALIATION AT THIS
POINT. >> PRETTY LOW, JIM.
EVERY ONE OF THOSE AMERICAN FLIGHTS THAT YOU DESCRIBED AND
WHAT THE UNITED STATES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AND OUR
SERVICES DO AS A MATTER OF ROUTINE IS IN INTERNATIONAL AIR
SPACE. THAT'S AVAILABLE -- IT'S -- I
MEAN, IT'S THE GOVERNED COMMONS, EVERYBODY CAN GO THERE,
EVERYBODY CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT. SO WHEN THE CHINESE SEND THESE
KINDS OF WARNINGS, AND YOU WERE A PART OF THAT ON THAT PA
BESIDEN, ALSO WEAR IN MIND IN THE EARLY 2000s THE CHINESE SHOT
DOWN THE PREDECESSOR, THE P 3 AND IT HAD TO EMERGENCY LAND ON
AN ISLAND. THAT, AGAIN, WAS AN INCURSION,
AGGRESSIVE ACT ON THE PART OF THE CHINESE.
SO FOR THE UNITED STATES TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT RETALIATION, I
THINK THAT'S -- FRANKLY THE ENTIRE INCIDENT FOR THE MOST
PART BEING FLIPPED IS A LITTLE BIT OF A NOTHING BURGER.
THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE UNITED STATES TO DECLARE OUR
PRIORITY WHEN THEY FIRST DETECTED THE BALLOON TO SAY
WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT.
IF THIS THING ENTERS INTO THE ADIS IT'S NOT BECAUSE YOU WANTED
IT TO. WE'RE GOING TO TAKE IT DOWN AND
DECONSTRUCT WHAT TOOK PLACE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE
DOING. I THINK THAT WAS THE COURSE THAT
SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN. >> SO ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, YOU
WERE TRAVELING WITH THE PRESIDENT THIS WEEKEND, I
IMAGINE YOU WERE ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS GOING INTO IT.
WHAT WAS THE LEVEL OF U.S. CONCERN ABOUT THE NATIONAL
SECURITY RISK FROM THIS SURVEILLANCE BALLOON?
DID THEY TAKE THIS DOWN BECAUSE OF THAT RISK OR DID THEY TAKE IT
DOWN IN PART BECAUSE OF CONCERNS ABOUT POLITICAL FALLOUT IN THE
U.S.? >> I THINK MOST OF THE CONCERN
HAD TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT SHOOTING THIS SPY BALLOON DOWN
EARLIER IN THE WEEK COULD CAUSE HARM TO ANYONE ON THE GROUND.
AT LEAST BASED OFF OF, YOU KNOW, THE STATEMENTS THAT WE GOT FROM
NUMEROUS U.S. OFFICIALS. WHEN PRESIDENT BIDEN CAME OFF
AIR FORCE ONE I DID ASK HIM TO ELABORATE ON SOME OF THE
RECOMMENDATIONS AND ADVICE HE GOT FROM HIS OWN NATIONAL
SECURITY OFFICIALS AND HE PUT -- HE EMPHASIZED WHEN ASKED ABOUT
THE TIMING OF THE DOWNING OF THE BALLOON, HE EMPHASIZED REALLY
THAT THEY WERE FOCUSED ON THE SAFETY OF THOSE ON THE GROUND.
THAT BEING SAID, THAT RUNS UP AGAINST WE'RE SEEING SOME
POLITICAL CRITICISM FROM REPUBLICANS AND IT COMES AHEAD
OF THE STATE OF THE UNION THAT WE KNOW THE WHITE HOUSE WANTED
TO FOCUS ON HIS ECONOMIC AGENDA. SO IT'S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT
THERE ARE SOME AROUND THE PRESIDENT THAT ARE ANNOYED OF
THE SHADOW THIS NOW CASTS AROUND AN ADDRESS THAT THEY STILL WANT
TO FOCUS ON A SLATE OF LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS AND THE
ECONOMY. >> GENERAL MARKS, YOU MENTIONED
THE 2001 INCIDENT WITHIN THE EP-3 COLLIDED WITH A CHINESE
JET, BROUGHT IT DOWN. THERE WERE A LOT OF ANALYSIS AT
THE TIME THAT CHINA WAS MAKING A SHOW OF STRENGTH SAYING WE'RE
GOING TO COME UP CLOSE AND CHALLENGE THOSE SURVEILLANCE
FLIGHTS, BUT I SUPPOSE THERE ARE THE ESCALATIONS YOU WANT AND THE
ONES YOU DIDN'T WANT OR CAN'T CONTROL.
WHAT KIND OF COMMUNICATIONS DO YOU EXPECT ARE GOING BETWEEN THE
U.S. AND CHINESE MILITARIES NOW TO AVOID AN ESCALATION?
>> JIM, THAT'S THE GREAT QUESTION AND IT STARTS WITH -- I
DON'T WANT TO VENTURE INTO POLICY, I'M NOT A POLICY GUY,
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S DECISION
NOT TO GO TO BEIJING, I VIEW THIS DIFFERENTLY.
I THINK HE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE GONE TO BEIJING TO KEEP THOSE
LINES OF COMMUNICATIONS OPEN. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAVE TO
HAVE IN CIRCUMSTANCES LIKE THIS. YOU CANNOT SHUT DOWN WHEN THE
NARRATIVE IS THIS IS RATCHETING UP.
WE CAN'T ALLOW THAT TO HAPPEN. LOOK, I WOULD SAY THAT WHEN YOU
LOOK AT THIS BALLOON TECHNOLOGY, LOOK, I'VE LAUNCHED BALLOONS
WITH DIFFERENT SENSORS ON THE BOTTOM OF THEM WHEN I'VE IN
DIFFERENT PLACES AROUND THE GLOBE.
IT'S AN EFFECTIVE COLLECTION PLATFORM.
SO FOR THE UNITED STATES TO LOOK AT THIS AND SAY IT'S A BALLOON,
IT'S NO BIG DEAL. IT IS A BIG DEAL AND LET'S
ADDRESS IT, BALLOONS GIVE YOU LIGHTER, THEY GIVE YOU LAYERING,
YOU HAVE SATELLITES, YOU CAN HAVE BALLOON, YOU CAN HAVE
AIRCRAFT, ET CETERA, ALL OF THAT AS AN INTELLIGENCE GUY MAKES
SENSE TO ME BUT IN THIS CASE I HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS MORE AS A
POLICY DECISION DRIVEN BY POLICY THAN DRIVEN BY INTELLIGENCE
COLLECTION CONCERNS. >> WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN THE
POLITICS INJECT TD AS ZOLAN WAS SAYING THERE.
THANKS SO MUCH TO BOTH OF YOU.