China hits back at ‘irresponsible information warfare’ after US said downed spy balloon was part of a global operation by Beijing to collect military intel from 12 countries
- A Chinese spokesperson said the balloon was a civilian meteorological airship
- China reiterated its claim that the U.S. had ‘overreacted’ by shooting it down
China has hit back at the U.S. after the suspected spy balloon was downed, claiming accusations were ‘part of the U.S. side’s information warfare against China’.
At Thursday’s daily briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning repeated China’s insistence that the large unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had accidentally blown off course.
She reiterated China’s claim that the U.S. had ‘overreacted’ by shooting it down.
But the Pentagon said on Wednesday that the Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast on Saturday was part of a program involving a number of airships that China has been operating for ‘several years’.
It is believed China has used the spy balloons to gather more information about American military bases and other countries’ military capabilities.
The downed spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast of South Carolina, February 4, 2023
The remnants of a large balloon drift above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it, February 4, 2023
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning repeated China’s insistence that the large unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship, Beijing, October 13, 2022
‘It is irresponsible,’ Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing.
The latest accusations ‘may be part of the U.S. side’s information warfare against China.’
Following the downing, China’s defense minister refused to take a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the balloon issue on Saturday, the Pentagon said.
China has also not answered questions as to what government department or company the balloon belonged to, or how it planned to follow up on a pledge to take further action over the matter.
U.S. officials have since dismissed China’s claims and agents from the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are cataloguing debris recovered from the ocean and transporting it for further processing.
Similar balloons passed over U.S. territory on four previous occasions during the Trump and Biden administrations. However, the U.S. did not immediately identify them as Chinese surveillance balloons, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
He added: ‘subsequent intelligence analysis’ allowed the U.S. to confirm they were part of a Chinese spying effort and learn ‘a lot more’ about the program.
‘I can assure you this was not for civilian purposes … We are 100% clear about that,’ Ryder said.
It is believed China has used the spy balloons to gather more information about American military bases. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, February 7, 2023
Similar balloons passed over U.S. territory on four previous occasions during the Trump and Biden administrations. Pictured: President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol, February 7, 2023
Top administration officials have been briefing members of Congress on the Chinese balloon surveillance program in classified sessions this week.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a visit to Beijing planned for this week in the wake of the incident, dealing a setback to efforts at arresting a further deterioration of bilateral relations that have spiraled to their lowest level in decades.
He said the U.S. has briefed dozens of countries on the program, which officials said has been active over five continents.
‘The United States was not the only target,’ he said at a news conference with visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Blinken said he and Stoltenberg had spoken about the ‘systemic and tactical challenges’ that China poses to the alliance and the importance of combatting them.
With China’s tone sharpening over the balloon incident, it wasn’t clear when Blinken’s visit might be rescheduled.
Despite that, China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday it welcomed a proposed visit by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, saying, ‘It´s very important for both sides to maintain normal communication.’
China ‘s suspected ‘spy balloon’ is seemingly part of a larger global surveillance plot by Beijing, a new report claimed on Wednesday
The New York Times reported yesterday- citing three U.S. intelligence sources – the suspected spy balloon is part of Beijing’s world-wide campaign of Chinese spying.
Intelligence sources told the paper the likely goal is reportedly to gather more information about American military bases as well as other countries’ military capabilities.
Similar surveillance devices were reportedly detected in at least 12 other countries across five continents.
Beijing has used the balloons because they can fly close to the earth without being detected. They are not immediately predictable to militaries and intelligence agencies as they aren’t detected by radar.
They also produce clearer imaging than satellites as they can slowly hover over areas to gather intelligence.
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