Hong Kong
CNN
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China has said it “reserves the right” to deal with “similar situations” after the US decided to shoot down a high-altitude balloon.
“The United States has used force to attack a civilian unmanned airship, which is clearly an overreaction. A spokeswoman said in a statement Sunday afternoon local time.
China “reserves the right to use any means necessary to deal with similar situations,” he added.
China’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that the United States “overreacted” and “flatly violated international practice” after a US military jet shot down a balloon over the Atlantic on Saturday in a mission that President Joe Biden hailed as a success. It is,” he criticized.
The US believes the balloon was involved in espionage, but China refutes this, claiming a civilian research vessel was blown off course.
“After confirming that the airship was for civilian use and entered the United States due to force majeure, the Chinese side repeatedly notified the U.S. side that it was a complete accident,” a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“Force majeure” is a legal term meaning “greater force”. The parties are exempted from liability if unforeseen events such as natural disasters prevent the performance of their obligations under the contract.
“China has clearly asked the United States to respond appropriately in a calm, professional and restrained manner. said no.
“China resolutely safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of relevant enterprises and reserves the right to make further necessary responses,” the ministry said.
Chinese state media announced on Saturday that the head of the country’s meteorological agency had been sacked. Some analysts saw it as an attempt to strengthen Beijing’s position that high-altitude balloons are of a civilian nature, primarily for meteorological purposes.
Zhuang Guotai was head of the China Meteorological Administration until Friday, and his departure was not unexpected. In late January, Zhuang was elected chairman of the People’s Political Advisory Committee of western Gansu province, the province’s political advisory body.
U.S. officials have disputed China’s repeated claims that the downed balloon was merely a civilian one and entered U.S. airspace by an “accident.”
“This was a Chinese (People’s Republic of China) surveillance balloon. We believe this surveillance balloon was deliberately passing over the United States and Canada to monitor sensitive military installations,” he said. A senior U.S. government official said.
Officials said the second balloon spotted over Central and South America was “another Chinese surveillance balloon” and had similar technical characteristics to the one that flew over the United States.
“Both balloons also carry surveillance equipment not typically associated with standard weather activity or civilian research,” the official said. “The collection pod equipment and solar panels, located on metal trusses suspended below the balloon, are the hallmarks of both balloons.”
A Pentagon official said earlier this week that balloons pose no “military or physical” threat. The United States decided not to shoot down the balloon while it remained on land because falling debris could injure civilians, instead waiting until it was out to sea.
The U.S. military will now concentrate on collecting the debris.
The incident is the latest in a string of espionage incidents that have fueled a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Washington.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese officials said on Sunday that China’s balloon incident “should not be tolerated by the civilized international community.”
The autonomous island, which China claims to be part of its territory even though it never ruled, has had similar balloons fly over its territory.
“Such actions by the Chinese Communist Party government violate international law, violate the territorial airspace of other countries, and violate the sovereignty of other countries,” Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He demanded that the act be stopped immediately.” It is disrupting the country and causing regional instability. ”
In September 2021 and February 2022, balloons believed to be used for “weather observations” flew over the island, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense.
However, it remains unclear whether those balloons were the same type as those shot down by US fighter jets on Saturday.
