The White House responded Monday to China’s new claims that US-owned high-altitude balloons have “illegally flown” over its airspace more than 10 times since last year, calling them “false” and the “latest example of China struggling for damage control.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the accusations, but did not provide details about the alleged US balloons, how they were treated or whether they had government or military ties.
“It is also common for American balloons to illegally enter other countries’ airspace,” Wang told a daily briefing. “Since last year, US high-altitude balloons have illegally flown over China’s airspace more than 10 times without the approval of Chinese authorities.”
Wang added that the United States should “first reflect on itself and change course, instead of slandering and instigating confrontation.”
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A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, on February 1, 2023 in this image obtained from social media. (Chase Doak/via Reuters)
However, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson tweeted that “any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the PRC is false.
“It is China that has a high-altitude surveillance balloon program for intelligence gathering, which it has used to violate the sovereignty of the US and more than 40 countries on 5 continents,” he continued.
“This is the latest example of China fighting for damage control,” Watson added. “He has repeatedly and erroneously claimed that the surveillance balloon he sent over the US was a weather balloon and has offered no credible explanation for its intrusion into our airspace, the airspace of others.”
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin attends a regular press conference on May 24, 2022 in Beijing.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.
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)
The Chinese allegations came after the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had crossed from Alaska to South Carolina.
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Three other unidentified flying objects have been shot down over the United States and Canada in recent days.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
