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The Chinese government has formally accused the US on Monday of having illegally flown over its airspace with balloons dedicated to espionage on more than ten occasions during the past year. China’s complaint of the violation of its space by the US authorities comes after an intense weekend marked by the appearance and subsequent downing of up to two unidentified flying objects in the US, and one in China.
The spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, appeared to point out that “it is not uncommon” for balloons of North American origin to enter the airspace of other countries illegally. The Chinese government official asked Washington to “reflect” on the implications of its own events in terms of foreign policy and warned that Beijing “reserves” the right to take any response measures it deems appropriate to the events of recent days. that they consider “relevant”.
For its part, the Joe Biden government has described such incriminations as “false” and has denounced that the Chinese authorities have a surveillance program in place in which they use balloons, which reach high altitudes, to gather information in more than 40 foreign countries. Countries like Japan, India, Vietnam, Japan or the Philippines would have been victims of this covert surveillance due to the military and strategic interest they present for the Asian giant. From the White House they maintain that China is using this type of accusation to distract attention by not having been able to offer “credible explanations” about the Chinese balloon that was detected crossing the US before being shot down in Atlantic waters.
The tension between the main world powers since the Chinese globe collapsed on February 4 has been at its highest, but the spokesman for the National Security Council assured this Monday that the dialogue between the two powers remains open. “We still have diplomatic relations with China, we still have an embassy there. It’s not as if all communications between us and the Chinese Communist Party have been shut down (…) We have the ability to communicate directly with Chinese leaders,” the president emphatically defended. spokesman, John Kirby.
Beijing admitted ownership of the balloon, but justified its presence in American airspace by assuring that there was a deviation in its route and that its purposes are purely meteorological. The Biden government has shown its skepticism about the version offered from China. This weekend the US authorities had to shoot down two other unknown objects that flew over their territory and that of Canada. At the moment, they have not been able to determine its origin.
An expert analyzes the consequences of the crisis between China and the US due to “spy balloons”
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Taiwan reveals that China has been flying over its territory with balloons for years
The government of Taiwan has announced, as a result of recent events, that they have been recording the presence of Chinese balloons in its airspace for years, a fact that increases the country’s concern about a possible and imminent attack against the country, according to reports Financial Times. “They come very frequently, the last one just a few weeks ago,” a senior Taiwanese official confirmed. Another official consulted by the British newspaper explained that such illegal incursions occurred on average once a month.
Taiwan had only previously referred to such incidents on one occasion last February, when they announced that several Chinese balloons flew over the north of the island.