(FeaturedNews.com) – On Friday, China accused the U.S. of “political manipulation and hype” over the decision to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon.
Beijing declined the U.S. call over the incident, stating that Washington had not created an “atmosphere for dialogue.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry once again reiterated that the balloon was a civilian airship and criticized the House resolution passed on Thursday which condemned the usage of the balloon.
Mao Ning, a spokesperson, during a regular briefing said the resolution “was purely political manipulation and hype,” and that China rejected it completely. These comments came after the Chinese Defense Ministry said that the U.S. action in shooting down the balloon “violates international practice.”
Tan Kefei, another spokesperson noted that the U.S. approach to the incident was completely wrong and it did not help create an environment where dialogue would be possible between the two countries and their “two militaries.” He added that China also rejected the U.S. proposal for a phone call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe.
Tan added that following the incident China also reserves the right to follow similar means in similar situations. The Biden administration has maintained that the 200-foot-tall balloon was used by China for surveillance purposes and that it had “multiple antennas” that could be used for collecting intelligence signals.
However, China has maintained that the balloon was used for meteorological research and that it had accidentally drifted off its course. They have also stated that the U.S.’s response was an overreaction.
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