China accused the United States on Monday of flying balloons over its territory, hitting back against Washington\u2019s claims that Beijing has been operating a fleet of surveillance aircraft around the world.
\nThe downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina earlier this month prompted a bipartisan congressional resolution condemning Beijing, while subsequent downings of other unidentified objects over North America in recent days have sparked widespread jitters and speculation as to their origins.
\nOnly the first object has been officially attributed to China, with Beijing insisting it was a civilian craft that had blown off course.
\nOn Monday, China sought to turn the tables on Washington, accusing it of having sent more than 10 balloons into its airspace since January 2022.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon as well for the United States to illegally enter the airspace of other countries,\u201d foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a briefing.
\n\u201cSince last year alone, US balloons have illegally flown above China more than 10 times without any approval from Chinese authorities.\u201d
\nAsked how China responded to those alleged incursions, Wang said Beijing\u2019s \u201chandling (of these incidents) was responsible and professional\u201d.
\n\u201cIf you want to know more about US high-altitude balloons illegally entering China\u2019s airspace, I suggest you refer to the US side,\u201d he added.
\nOver the weekend, Chinese state-affiliated media reported that an unidentified flying object had been spotted off the country\u2019s east coast \u2014 and that the military was preparing to shoot it down.
\nBeijing on Monday declined to comment on that report, referring journalists to the defence ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.
\nWhite House rebuts China\u2019s claims
\nMeanwhile, the White House denied Beijing\u2019s accusation that the US has been sending balloons over China to conduct surveillance.
\n\u201cAny claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the PRC is false,\u201d National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said on Twitter, adding that it is the People\u2019s Republic of China \u201cthat has a high-altitude surveillance balloon program for intelligence collection. \u201c
\nWatching the skiesAmericans have been watching the skies as a growing number of aerial incursions are reported \u2014 all of which Beijing denied knowledge of on Monday.
\nOn Sunday, the Pentagon said it had not yet determined the nature of the other three objects \u2014 one shot down Friday over Alaska, one on Saturday over Canada\u2019s Yukon territory, and the most recent one on Sunday over Lake Huron.
\nBut it said the object downed Sunday had been tracked for nearly a day and did not resemble the alleged Chinese surveillance balloon that was destroyed off the Atlantic coast on February 4 after traversing the country.
\nThat first balloon prompted Washington to cancel a rare trip to Beijing by State Secretary Antony Blinken.
\nUS President Joe Biden ordered an F-16 fighter to shoot down the latest object on Sunday \u201cout of the abundance of caution\u201d, a senior administration official said.
\nThe object was described by the official as an octagonal structure with strings hanging off it.
\nDrifting at about 20,000 feet over Michigan, it could have posed a hazard to civil aviation, the official said.
\nThe US Northern Command\u2019s General Glen VanHerck told reporters that after aircraft were sent up to inspect the newest object, they concluded that there was no indication of any threat, the same with the previous objects.
\n\u201cWhat we are seeing is very, very small objects that produce a very, very low radar cross-section,\u201d he said.
\nHe declined to describe the shape or size of the objects but said they were travelling very slowly, around the speed of the wind.
\nSpeculation as to what the objects may be has flared in recent days.
\n\u201cI will let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,\u201d VanHerck told reporters when asked if it was possible the objects are aliens or extraterrestrials. \u201cI haven\u2019t ruled out anything at this point. \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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