China continued to insist that the balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday was a “civilian weather blimp” during a daily briefing on Thursday, accusing the United States of “information warfare.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning repeated the country’s claim that the large unmanned balloon accidentally drifted off course and that the US government overreacted by shooting it down, according to the Associated Press.
“It is irresponsible,” Mao said at the briefing. “The latest accusations may be part of the US side’s information war against China.”
US officials have repeatedly rejected China’s claims, and agents from the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are transporting the recovered remains of the balloon for further processing.
CHINA HAS ‘A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO’ AFTER SPY FLIGHTS FOUND ‘SOVEREIGNTY VIOLATION’ ON 5 CONTINENTS: DOD
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning gestures during a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng, File)
On Wednesday, the Pentagon said the balloon was part of a program involving several such airships operated by China over “several years.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said similar balloons that passed over US territory four times during the Trump and Biden administrations were not immediately identified as surveillance balloons, but “subsequent intelligence analysis” led to confirmation that they were part of a Chinese spy effort.
He added that the previous passages have allowed officials to learn “much more” about the program.
“I can assure you that this was not for civilian purposes,” Ryder said. “We are 100% clear on that.”
US OFFICIALS TOLD NEARLY 150 FOREIGN DIPLOMATS IN 40 NATIONS ABOUT CHINESE SPY FLIGHT: REPORT
In this photo provided by Chad Fish, a large balloon drifts over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina, with a fighter jet and its wake below, on Saturday, February 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
Members of Congress were briefed on the Chinese balloon surveillance program by senior administration officials in classified sessions Wednesday and Thursday.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that the United States has informed dozens of countries about the program, which officials say has been active on five continents.
At a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Blinken said the United States was “not the only target.”
He also spoke with Stoltenberg about the importance of combating the “systemic and tactical challenges” that China poses to the alliance.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shake hands after a news conference in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department in Washington, DC, on 8 February 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
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After learning about the Chinese spy balloon, Blinken canceled a visit to Beijing planned for this week. The meeting was aimed at mending spiraling bilateral relations with the country, which are now at the lowest level in decades.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
