China has accused the United States of lying to the world after the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution condemning Beijing’s remarks about a surveillance spy balloon hovering over North America.
“China is very dissatisfied with this and strongly opposes it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said during a daily briefing on Friday, accusing US lawmakers of “exaggerating” the balloon for “purely political manipulation.” .
The stern statement came the day after Republicans and Democrats joined in a 419-0 vote to condemn Beijing for a “blatant violation” of US sovereignty and efforts to “mislead the international community through claims false statements about their intelligence-gathering campaigns.
House Republicans also criticized the Biden administration for failing to act sooner to shoot down the plane as it flew from Montana to South Carolina, though defense officials said they disabled its surveillance capabilities.
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Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei attends a press conference at the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting venue in Siem Reap, Cambodia, November 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
After the balloon was detected and photos were widely shared online, the Chinese government claimed the object was a civilian weather balloon that had drifted off course.
Beijing did not provide any additional information, including the balloon’s self-steering capabilities or its modern signal surveillance techniques that were “capable of signal intelligence gathering” with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels for feed them, US officials said.
The United States also said the balloon was linked to a major surveillance program run by China’s military, which includes the use of similar aircraft in more than 40 countries under the direction of the People’s Liberation Army. Similar balloons have sailed across five continents, according to the US.
A State Department official said the balloon maker has “a direct relationship with the Chinese military and is an approved supplier” to the military.
State defense contractor China Electronics Technology Group said in 2021 that radar equipment and other devices to spy on and interfere with telecommunications could be attached to its JY400 balloon.
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The balloon flew between 60,000 and 80,000 feet above Earth and completed its journey across the US, traveling over or near several US military bases before the Air Force shot it down off the coast. of the Carolinas.
On Saturday afternoon, an F-22 shot down the balloon with a single A9X missile off the territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina. The plane was sent to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
After initially expressing “regret” over the incident, China has intensified its rhetoric against the United States for what it called an “irresponsible and seriously misguided approach by the United States.”
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrives at Osan Air Base January 30, 2023 in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. (Lee Jin-Man – Pool/Getty Images)
After the US shot down the plane, China’s Defense Ministry said it rejected a call from US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as the US had “failed to create the right atmosphere” for dialogue.
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The United States “seriously violated international norms and set a pernicious precedent,” ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday.
“Since this irresponsible and seriously misguided approach by the US did not create the right atmosphere for dialogue and exchanges between the two militaries, China did not accept the US proposal for a phone call between the two defense ministers. Tan continued.
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)
Tan also said that China “reserves the right to use the necessary means to deal with similar situations.”
Beijing said the US “overreacted” in its decision to shoot down the plane and said US claims that it was spying are “part of the US side’s information warfare against China”.
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A Chinese naval fleet departs for an upcoming China-Russia joint naval exercise from a military port in Zhoushan, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on December 20, 2022. (LiLi Yun/Xinhua via Getty Images Yun/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Chinese navy warships take part in a joint naval exercise, Joint Sea 2022, in the East China Sea on Dec. 21, 2022. The Chinese and Russian navies kicked off a joint naval exercise, Joint Sea 2022, on Wednesday in the East China Sea. (Li Yun/Xinhua via Getty Images)
After the United States detected the surveillance plane, Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned trip to Beijing that was intended to help stabilize bilateral relations. The relationship has become increasingly strained by trade and human rights violations, as well as China’s threats against Taiwan and the increasingly aggressive actions of the Chinese military in the South China Sea.
The United States and China remain at odds over the balloon’s capabilities.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
