The White House has warned that any allegations about the alleged deployment of U.S. spy balloons in Chinese airspace are «false,» hours after Beijing reported detecting more than a dozen such devices since early 2022.
«It is China that has a high-altitude surveillance balloon program to collect intelligence information,» responded the spokeswoman for the US National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, who denounced the presence of these devices in «more than 40 countries».
Washington believes that Beijing is only seeking a minimum of «damage control», after it was unable to offer «credible explanations» following the detection of a balloon that crossed the whole of North America before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Chinese government has claimed that the balloon was intended for scientific purposes, a version of which Joe Biden’s administration is suspicious. In recent days, in addition, two other flying objects have been shot down in the airspace of the United States and Canada.
Within this cross of reproaches and accusations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, has confirmed for the first time the alleged U.S. balloons and warned that Beijing «reserves the right to take the necessary measures to respond to relevant incidents».
«It is not at all unusual for U.S. balloons to illegally enter another country’s airspace,» he said in a media appearance reported by Bloomberg. Wang has urged Washington to «reflect» on its own behavior and change «wrong practices.»
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
