What’s new: China has pushed the U.S. to conduct a “thorough investigation” and explain the alleged incursions of American balloons that Beijing claimed have crossed China’s airspace more than 10 times since May 2022.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin pointed out at a daily briefing Tuesday that the U.S. side has not fully denied the allegations.
U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said they had no knowledge of a U.S. balloon or other craft over Chinese territory, according to a White House statement Monday. Kirby also said that the U.S is not flying surveillance balloons over China.
The supposed high-altitude balloons also entered the airspace of other countries as they circumnavigated the globe after being released from the U.S. mainland, said Wang.
What’s more: The foreign ministry called the U.S. “the absolute No.1 country in terms of spying and surveillance” on Monday, criticizing Washington’s “massive, non-discriminative wiretapping and secret theft operations globally.”
The U.S. military vessels and aircrafts’ “frequent close-in reconnaissance” on China had undermined China’s national security, Wang said at a daily briefing Monday.
The U.S. shot down three more flying objects in U.S. and Canadian airspace, after it took down an unmanned Chinese airship on Feb. 4. The origin of the other objects has not been announced.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Jonathan Breen (jonathanbreen@caixin.com)
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