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Story: China accused US of flying balloon over its airspace illegally ; 14-02-2023;
After a Chinese balloon was shot down by US in US, China now accuses US of flying over 10 balloons over its airspace.
China has accused the United States of flying high-altitude balloons over its territory without permission more than 10 times in the past year, prompting a denial from the US government. The allegation came just after the US accused China of flying a spy balloon over its airspace a few days back, which was later shot down by the US over the Atlantic Ocean.
China denied the accusations made by US, back then, and said it was a “civilian airship” which has deviated from its planned route.
The suspected Chinese spy balloon had crossed from Alaska to South Carolina, sparking a new crisis in relations between the world’s top two superpowers.
China now accuses US of flying over 10 balloons over its airspace.
US accused China of sending spy balloon over its airspace:
• US defence officials said they believed the balloon, seen above sensitive areas in recent days, was in fact a “high-altitude surveillance” device.
• China denied the allegation made by the US of the “balloon” being a spy airship, and said it was a “civilian airship” which had deviated from its planned route.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said:
• Countering the “spy balloon” accusation, the Chinese foreign ministry gave response to the US by counter, accusing the latter of flying high-altitude balloons illegally over China’s airspace.
“It is also common for US balloons to illegally enter the airspace of other countries,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a news briefing.
“Since last year, US high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China’s airspace more than 10 times without the approval of Chinese authorities,” Wang said without giving details about how they had been dealt with or whether they had government or military links.
The US should “first reflect on itself and change course, rather than smear and instigate a confrontation”, Wang said.
US response:
The White House swiftly denied China’s assertions. “Not true. Not doing it. Just absolutely not true,” national security spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with MSNBC. “We are not flying balloons over China.”
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• The US has also placed economic restrictions on six Chinese entities it said are linked to China’s aerospace programmes.
US vs. China in 2025?:
The US and China are going through sorrow relationship patch for a long time now, and are competing with each other in various fields like economical superiority, warfare capability, bilateral ties with other nation, keeping more influence than the other on nations around the globe.
According to some experts the duo may engage in full scale war against each other, somewhere up until 2025, just recently the duo engaged in a spat over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which Beijing, claims as its own province.
China back then responded with bustling military drills surrounding the Taiwan territory, in response to US interference, as well as to punish Taiwan indirectly.