[1/4] Spectators watch after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast in Holden Beach, North Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023.
Regional analysts and diplomats are closely watching China's response after a U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon - which Beijing says was an errant weather-monitoring craft - in the Atlantic off South Carolina on Saturday.
China on Sunday condemned the attack as an "over-reaction", saying it reserved the right to use the necessary means to deal with "similar situations", without elaborating.
But while bilateral tension has risen in the past few days over the balloon incident, Beijing and Washington have been seeking to improve ties.
Naval Postgraduate School in California, said any Chinese response would be limited.