The United States Navy recovers the remains of the Chinese "spy balloon" that was shot down in the jurisdiction of South Carolina. Photo: US Navy EFE - Tyler Thompson US Navy
• Beijing accuses Americans of flying their own devices over China without permission, but the Biden administration rejects the claim
• Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin says it was ‘completely an accident’ that China’s civilian unmanned airship strayed into US airspace
China says high-altitude balloons from the United States have sailed across Chinese airspace without permission more than 10 times since last year, but the Biden administration directly rejects Beijing’s claim.
“It is also common for US balloons to illegally enter the airspace of other countries,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday.
“Since last year alone, US high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China’s airspace more than 10 times without the approval of relevant Chinese authorities.
“The first thing the US should do is to reflect on itself and change its own way, rather than slander, discredit or incite confrontation.”
This is the first time during the balloon saga that Beijing has accused Washington of deploying balloons over China.
The accusation came almost two weeks into the row over a Chinese balloon shot down over US territory, when Wang was asked about details of US balloons flying over China’s territory.
Asked about that accusation, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said “there is no US surveillance aircraft over China in Chinese airspace”.
“We’re not flying surveillance balloons over China. I’m not aware of any other [surveillance] craft that we’re flying over into Chinese airspace,” he told a press conference on Monday in Washington.
The row over the appearance and shooting down of what the US said was a Chinese surveillance balloon – and China said was one of its unmanned civilian airships – prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to suspend a planned visit to China last week.
Wang said on Monday that it was “completely an accident” that China’s civilian unmanned airship strayed into US airspace by force majeure.
After the US downed three more flying objects – over Alaska on Friday, northern Canada on Saturday and Michigan on Sunday – Beijing reiterated its criticism, with Wang calling the action a strong overreaction.
“The US shooting down of the balloon is completely an abuse of force and an overreaction. We firmly oppose this,” he said.
The US had “abused” its technological advantages to carry out large-scale and “indiscriminate” wiretapping and theft operations against the world, Wang said, adding that it violated the sovereignty and interests of other countries, international law and the basic norms of international relations.
“The United States is the world’s largest espionage habitual criminal and surveillance empire,” Wang said.
He said the United States had sent 657 warships and planes to conduct close-in reconnaissance of China last year.
And in January this year, 64 military planes and ships were discovered by Beijing in the South China Sea, a development that “seriously endangered China’s national security and undermined regional peace and stability”, he said.
Amid the war of words over the balloon, a further unidentified flying object was reported near the Chinese coast.
According to mainland media, the object was detected over waters near Rizhao, a northern Chinese port city in Shandong province close to the Bohai Sea, on Sunday and local authorities said they were ready to shoot it down.
The Qingdao Marine Development Bureau sent a message to fishing boats asking them to stay alert and “avoid risks”, stating the bureau did not have an update on what the object was, media outlets reported.
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The sighting coincided with the start of a week-long People’s Liberation Army (PLA) military exercise in the Bohai Strait – an area connecting the Bohai Sea and the northern part of the Yellow Sea, according to a notice issued by maritime safety authorities in Dalian, a port city in the northern province of Liaoning.
One analyst speculated on the source of the unidentified object.
“The balloon is likely to be one flown from South Korea to the North, which happens quite often,” said Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank based in Beijing.
“As far as I know, the balloon is low enough to endanger civilian airlines, so it might be shot down.”
He said the incident had drawn more public attention because of the balloon row with the US.
The balloon saga has intensified the heightened geopolitical tension between China and the US, further aggravating friction in high technology.
On Friday, the US added six Chinese entities to an export blacklist, saying they were linked to Beijing’s suspected “spy balloon” programme.
The entities – including Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute – were believed to support “China’s military modernisation efforts, specifically the [PLA] aerospace programmes, including airships and balloons”, the US Commerce Department said.
When asked on Monday about the ban, Wang said Beijing would take countermeasures.
“China is strongly dissatisfied with this and firmly opposes it. China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and institutions,” he said.
China has always opposed the US’ “illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Chinese institutions, enterprises and individuals,” he said, adding that the US was “hyping up and intensifying [the situation], using this as an excuse to illegally sanction Chinese companies and institutions”.
(South China Morning Post) by Xinlu Liang
