On Monday, China took issue with the U.S. for its maneuvers to guard its airspace, voicing their criticism.
At a press conference Monday, Wang Wenbin, a representative from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made reference to a number of aircraft being taken down by the U.S. since the destruction of a Chinese spy balloon earlier in the month.
Wang declared, "We have made it clear time and again that the entry of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace was a purely unintended, unexpected and isolated event caused by force majeure."
Wang was not able to authenticate the origin of the balloon or confirm that it belonged to China. "As to the unidentified objects you asked about, I do not have anything on that."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken issue with the manner in which the U.S. government has dealt with the matter in the last few weeks, asserting that the officials have caused a stir over a delicate circumstance.
"We do need to point out, however, that the U.S.'s downing of the unmanned airship with advanced missiles is a trigger-happy overreaction," Wang said.
"Many in the U.S. have been asking what good can such costly action possibly bring to the U.S. and its taxpayers?"
A journalist probed deeper into the matter by questioning Wang about any links between China and the unknown objects. The official immediately dismissed the inquiry, "As I just said, I do not have anything on that. We believe that no irresponsible comments should be made when there is no clear evidence. And we are absolutely opposed to made-up stories and smears against China," he said.
On Friday, the first vessel was brought down over Alaska, approximately seven days after the U.S. Air Force intercepted a Chinese spy balloon flying off the coast of South Carolina. This balloon had been making its way across the country for a while before being intercepted.
On Saturday, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau giving his consent, a second object flying in North American airspace was taken down in Yukon Province, Canada. This had been monitored by the two countries for 24 hours.
On Sunday, another object was removed from the sky above Lake Huron in the Great Lakes area.
Login