The People’s Republic of China lodged a “severe protest” to the United States over the downing of the drone surveillance plane floating in the country last week.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning answered questions on Wednesday when asked about the ongoing controversy surrounding the surveillance aircraft, parts of which have been recovered by US investigators.
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“The Chinese side has repeatedly shared information about the unintentional entry of the Chinese civil unmanned aircraft into US airspace. I would like to emphasize that the forcible shooting down of the Chinese civil unmanned aircraft by the The US is unacceptable and irresponsible. The Chinese side has lodged a stern protest,” Mao said.
Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on February 5, 2023. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tyler Thompson)
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning gestures during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng, File)
The balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina by US military fighter jets on Saturday afternoon. A senior US military official said an F-22 was used to shoot down the balloon at 58,000 feet with a single A9X missile.
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Mao expressed concern that media reports characterizing the balloon as a Chinese “threat” are deteriorating already tense US-China relations.
“I would also like to emphasize that exaggerating or exaggerating the ‘China threat’ narrative is not conducive to building trust or improving ties between our two countries, nor can it make the United States more secure,” Mao said.
A large balloon drifts over the Atlantic Ocean off the South Carolina coast, with a fighter jet and its wake below, on Saturday, February 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
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Pressed for comment on recent US communications informing other nations about the situation on the globe, she added: “The US is expected to communicate with other countries based on facts.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement after the balloon was shot down that “President Biden gave his authorization to shoot down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to life.” of the Americans under the trajectory of the balloon”. “
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President Biden speaks during a State of the Union address with Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, right, at the US Capitol USA in Washington, DC on Tuesday, February 7, 2023. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Mao also reacted to comments made about China in President Biden’s State of the Union address. In the speech, Biden outlined his hope for “competition” with the PRC, but warned that “if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country.”
“A healthy and stable relationship between China and the United States is in the fundamental interest of both peoples and meets the shared expectations of the international community,” Mao said. “On China’s side, we will manage China-US relations in accordance with the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation put forward by President Xi Jinping.”
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Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 16, 2022. (REUTERS/Tomas Pedro)
He added: “At the same time, we will firmly uphold our sovereignty, security and development interests. US-US relations return to the path of solid and stable development.”
Fox News’ Adam Sabes, Jacqui Heinrich and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
