China Says More Than 10 US Balloons Flew In Its Airspace

BEIJING, China — Washington said that Beijing has a fleet of surveillance balloons that fly all over the world. In response, China said on Monday that over ten US high-altitude balloons have flown in its airspace without permission in the last year. The US has denied operating any surveillance balloons over China.

The United States shot down what was thought to be a Chinese spy balloon that had flown from Alaska to South Carolina. This caused a new crisis in relations between the two countries, which were already at their worst in decades.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, provided no information about the alleged US balloons, how they were dealt with, or whether they had government or military ties.

“It is also common for US balloons to enter other countries’ airspace illegally,” Wang said at a daily briefing. “Since last year, US high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over Chinese airspace more than ten times without Chinese authorities’ approval.”

Wang suggested that the United States “first reflect on itself and change course, rather than smear and incite a confrontation.”

According to China, the balloon shot down by the US was an unmanned airship designed for meteorological research that was blown off course. It has said that the US overreacted by shooting it down, and it has threatened retaliation without saying what it would be.

The U.S. Does Not Operate Spy Balloons Over China

According to Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council in Washington, any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over China is false.

“China has a high-altitude surveillance balloon intelligence collection program linked to the People’s Liberation Army that it has used to violate the sovereignty of the United States and over 40 countries across five continents,” Watson said.

“This is the latest example of China scrambling to contain the damage. It has repeatedly and incorrectly claimed that the surveillance balloon it sent over the United States was a weather balloon, and it has yet to provide any credible explanation for its intrusion into our and others’ airspace.”

After the balloon incident, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing that many people hoped would stop the deterioration of relations over Taiwan, trade, and human rights and threaten Chinese actions in the disputed South China Sea.

Also on Monday, the Philippines accused a Chinese coast guard ship of using a military-grade laser to target a Philippine coast guard vessel and temporarily blinding some of its crew in the South China Sea, calling it a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights.

Pillaphine Coast Guard Trespasses Into Chinese Water

Wang stated that on February 6, a Philippine coast guard trespassed into Chinese waters without permission, to which Chinese coast guard vessels responded: “professionally and with restraint.” China claims all of the strategic waterway and has been steadily building up its navy and outposts on islands.

“China and the Philippines are maintaining communication in this regard through diplomatic channels,” Wang said. The Chinese Defense Ministry did not respond immediately to a question about the incident.

To ratchet up tensions, a US fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on orders from President Joe Biden on Sunday. It was the fourth such downing in eight days, part of an unusual string of events over US airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.

According to imagery from American U-2 spy planes, the Chinese balloon shot down by the US was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a massive, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries.

Heightened Alert Following The First Spy Balloon

A “heightened alert” following the alleged Chinese spy balloon is part of the reason for the repeated shootdowns, according to Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD and the US Northern Command, during a press conference.

As part of its response to the incident, the US has imposed economic sanctions on six Chinese entities it believes are linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs. The United States House of Representatives also unanimously condemned China for a “brazen violation” of American sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”

Wang, China’s spokesperson, reiterated China’s denial of such claims, saying that “the United States’ frequent firing of advanced missiles to shoot down the objects is an overreaction of overexertion.”

SOURCE – (AP)