Communist China, which runs a vast network of forced labor camps and brutally crushes even the slightest hint of domestic dissent, is enraged at the “indiscriminate use of force” against its spy balloon that breached the U.S. airspace.
The unmanned aircraft, which Beijing called an errant “climate-research balloon,” was seen hovering around sensitive U.S. military sites for several days before an F22 fighter jet on Saturday downed it off the South Carolina coast.
The military takedown of the balloon drew sharp criticism from China, with the Communist regime threatening that it “reserved the right to take further actions in response.” On Monday, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng decried “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”
The Associated Press reported Beijing’s threat:
China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force in shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying it “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.” (…)Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over the “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”“However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie said. (….)Xie repeated China’s insistence that the balloon was a Chinese civil unmanned airship that blew into U.S. airspace by mistake, calling it “an accidental incident caused by force majeure.”China will “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said.
The downing of the balloon, which China claims was part of its efforts to study climate change, may upend the Biden White House’s bid to work with Beijing on the global climate agenda. The incident could end up “hurting prospects for meaningful cooperation on the impacts of global warming,” Bloomberg feared.
After Saturday’s downing, the U.S. military detected a second high-altitude spy balloon hovering south of the border. China confirmed the ownership of the second aerial device. “Pentagon officials over the weekend said the second balloon was seen transiting across Central and South America, and characterized it as a fleet of surveillance balloons operated by China,” The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Chinese spying is not limited to high-altitude surveillance. The Communist regime has been dispatching undercover agents posing as students to penetrate military and nuclear-related research underway in U.S. universities. A vast web of Chinese state-owned companies is stealing industrial and technological secrets in the U.S. and the West for China’s People’s Liberation Army.
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