BEIJING (AFP) — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.”
The U.S. shot down the balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft.
Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”
The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.
Xie repeated China’s insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into U.S. airspace by mistake, calling it “an accidental incident caused by force majeure.”
China will “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said. U.S. officials said U.S. President Joe Biden issued the kill order after being told the best time to carry out the operation. Military officials decided that landing a balloon on land from an altitude of 60,000 feet (18,000 meters) would pose an unreasonable risk to people on the ground.
“What the United States has done has seriously hampered and undermined the efforts and progress made by both sides to stabilize China-US relations since the Bali talks.” I hoped there would be a positive impetus for
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning did not provide new details on Monday, but reiterated China’s claims that the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, had little controllability and accidentally veered off course. It also noted what additional steps China intends to take in response to Washington’s handling of the issue and the cancellation of Mr Blinken’s visit. I didn’t. In his daily briefing, Mao Zedong said, “Although he said this was a completely isolated and random incident caused by force majeure, the United States deliberately exaggerated the incident and used force to attack. “This is unacceptable and irresponsible behaviour.”
Balloons believed to be Chinese or known to be Chinese have been sighted from Latin America to Japan. Deputy Cabinet Office Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told reporters on Monday that a flying object similar to the one shot down by the United States has been sighted over northern Japan at least twice since 2020.
Last week, Pelosi’s successor, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, warned against travelling to Taiwan, suggesting that China’s reaction would be equally vocal.
