China allegedly warned the United States about possible acts of retaliation following the shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon.
After the United States shot down the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, the Chinese Defense Ministry released an official statement, claiming that the United States’ actions were an “obvious overreaction.”
The ministry, in the announcement, also allegedly declared that they may have to retaliate as well.
According to Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman, Senior Colonel Tan Kefei on Sunday, “the U.S. attack on Chinese civilian unmanned airships by force is an obvious overreaction,” adding that China reserves the right to take reciprocal actions to aircraft which were flown above China from the United States.
“We solemnly protest this move by the US side and reserve the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations,” Kefei declared.
Tan Kefei’s announcement was reported by The Global Times which is known for its “pro-China rhetoric and is used to ensure that China’s reputation is maintained as innocent but the comments made in their report show just where China stands on this issue,” Patriot Alerts reported.
Prior to the shooting of the balloon, China repeatedly claimed that it was harmless and was only meant to do weather research.
The Chinese government has also made multiple claims regarding the alleged spy balloon, claiming that America choosing to shoot the balloon down was equivalent to “shooting a mosquito with a cannon.”
In a statement Lü Xiang, a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences research fellow during an interview with the Global Times last Sunday, Lü claimed that the balloon may have been harmless but America proceeded to shoot it down for other reasons.
“In fact, such high-altitude balloons are equipped with cutting-edge technologies in terms of material, which the US side may have yet had. Shooting it down caused the loss for the Chinese side and the relevant technology research firm has the right to file claims against the US,” Lü reportedly told the Global Times.
“If the US does not make the difference, should China make a difference? Should China also take reciprocal measures? The US must carefully consider the consequences,” Lü added.
“If the US does not differentiate between civilian and military aircraft, then it has made a very bad precedent in treating the China-US relations,” Lü continued.
However, despite claims that the balloon was harmless, many speculated that the shooting of the balloon down may cause relations between the US and China to significantly escalate.
“From the US government to public opinion, the balloon incident has been exploited to instigate fermenting anti-China sentiment, which will only make the US’ China policy more aggressive,” professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, Lia Haidong said in a statement.
