The World Briefly

February 14, 2023

The Ballooning Counterpunch

China

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China accused the United States of flying high-altitude balloons over its airspace without permission since last year, the latest accusation in an ongoing row that began last week when Washington ordered the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, NBC News reported Monday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Monday that balloons of alleged US origin had flown illegally over Chinese airspace at least 10 times since early 2022. He added that Beijing reserves the right to use “any necessary means” to deal with such aircraft.

This is the first time Beijing has accused the US of using balloons following the downing of its own balloon last week. China said that it was an unmanned civilian airship conducting meteorological research – but US officials claimed that it was being used for spying.

The accusations come just days after the US shot down three unidentified objects over North America – two of which were over US airspace.

Wang said he had no information on the three objects, while Pentagon officials noted that they are still assessing them.

The balloon controversy has further strained US-China relations: Following the discovery of the Chinese balloon, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned visit to China. The US has also blacklisted six Chinese entities linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom announced a security review Monday in light of the recent downings, according to the Associated Press. British officials noted that it was “possible” China had flown spy balloons over the UK.

Analysts suggested that China’s allegations of American balloons could be seen as an effort by Beijing to divert attention away from its surveillance program after previous damage control attempts failed.

This story originally appeared in the February 14, 2023 newsletter, The Puppetmasters.