China has condemned the US for shooting down its balloon on the suspicion of snooping on sensitive military sites, saying that the move has “seriously impacted and damaged” relations between the two countries.
On Saturday, Washington shot it down off the coast of South Carolina after the balloon spent several days hovering over North America, leading the United States to call off a planned visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Beijing protested the move, claiming the balloon was a civilian aircraft that was blown off course, and on Sunday lodged an official complaint with the US embassy in China.
“The United States’ actions have seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilising Sino-US relations since the Bali meeting,” vice foreign minister Xie Feng said in the complaint, referring to a summit between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in November.
China condemns U.S decision to shoot down sky balloon
The statement added, ” China is paying close attention to the development of the situation” and “reserves the right to make further necessary reactions”.
The US, however, maintains that the alleged spy balloon was a “high-altitude surveillance balloon”, adding that Washington had taken steps to block it from collecting sensitive information.
Navy roped in to retire debris
US Navy divers have been working to recover the wreckage of the Chinese surveillance balloon.
America’s former top military officer said he expected it would happen relatively quickly so that experts could begin analysing its equipment, according to BBC.
Apart from that, fighter jets have been dispatched to the US territorial waters as the debris is spread over a wide area.
(With inputs from agencies)
