China blasted the United States after the latter decided to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was hovering in the latter’s sky last week.
Recently, the Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the US, claiming that the latter’s decision to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon was an “overreaction.”
The statement came after the U.S. military shot the surveillance balloon down the Carolina coast last Saturday.
The US’ decision came days after the alleged spy balloon was seen flying over several sensitive military facilities in Montana.
In an official statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Saturday, the Ministry claimed that “China strongly disapproves of and protests against the U.S. attack on a civilian unmanned airship by force.”
The South China Morning Post also reported that the Ministry argued that “The US’ use of force is a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice,” and warned the US that Beijing has the right to make “further responses that are necessary.”
On Friday, Chinese officials confirmed that the balloon was indeed theirs. However, the country denied it being a spy balloon, arguing that it was only a civilian airship used for weather research.
According to a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, “the airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes.”
The official also explained that it was “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”
But despite China’s explanation, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, debunked China’s claims on Friday, arguing that “we know that it’s a surveillance balloon.”
Ryder also added that he would be unable to share more information than that.
“We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law which is unacceptable so we’ve conveyed this directly to the [People’s Republic of China] at multiple levels,” Ryder continued.
In an exclusive report published by Bloomberg, it was revealed that “The Pentagon first became aware of the balloon on January 28, when it entered U.S. airspace in Alaska. The Biden administration kept the discovery under wraps so as not to jeopardize Secretary of State Blinken’s planned trip to Beijing.”
