In light of the exchange of accusations that has not stopped since last week until today, US President Joe Biden renewed Thursday that the US military is monitoring the airspace after the Chinese balloon accident.
He added, addressing the American people, that Washington does not know precisely what flying objects it shot down during the past days.
We will not apologize to China!
He also continued that the intelligence suggested that the flying objects belonged to companies or research institutions.
He explained that there are no indications that the flying objects are linked to a spy program belonging to China or another country, stressing that the American forces will shoot down any flying object that poses a threat to the people.
He announced that additional measures would be taken to detect any flying objects over American airspace.
He also revealed that the US forces were able to protect sensitive sites against the Chinese balloon collecting any information about it.
He stressed that he would not apologize to China for shooting down the balloon, pointing to the possibility of talking to the Chinese president during the coming period.
Sanctions and accusations
This came after the US President returned to the White House early Thursday afternoon following a trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for an annual physical examination.
The speech coincided with China’s renewed criticism of the United States over the spy balloon that was shot down by US forces last week, igniting an acute diplomatic crisis with its most powerful economic rival.
In a statement Thursday, the Chinese parliament accused US lawmakers of violating the sovereignty of other countries after America passed a measure condemning the balloon’s intrusion into its airspace.
He also reiterated that the airship, which was shot down early this month, was an uninhabited civilian for weather research, a claim rejected by Washington, citing its flight path and its cargo of observational equipment.
Last week, Washington imposed sanctions on six Chinese entities it said were linked to Beijing’s aviation programmes.
This came after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceled a planned visit to the Chinese capital, which led to a sudden freeze of what some saw as a momentum to stabilize relations that had fallen to their lowest levels in decades amid disputes over trade, human rights, Taiwan and claims to sovereignty in the South China Sea.
