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US says 2nd Chinese 'spy balloon' over L America

Beijing says US media, politicians used balloon incident \'as pretext to smear China\'

Published : Sunday, 5 February, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 375

Beijing says US media, politicians used balloon incident 'as pretext to smear China'


A Chinese spy balloon has been spotted over Latin America, the Pentagon said Friday, a day after a similar craft was seen in US skies, prompting the scrapping of a rare trip to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Pentagon said the first balloon was now heading eastwards over the central United States, adding it was not being shot down for safety reasons.

Later Friday, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said: "We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America."
"We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon," he added, without specifying its exact location.
Moments before Blinken's decision to cancel his trip -- aimed at easing tensions between the two countries -- China issued a rare statement of regret over the first balloon and blamed winds for pushing what it called a civilian airship into US airspace.
But President Joe Biden's administration described it as a maneuverable "surveillance balloon".

With the rival Republican Party already on the offensive, Blinken postponed a two-day visit that was to have started Sunday.
In a telephone call with senior Chinese official Wang Yi, Blinken said he "made clear that the presence of this surveillance balloon in US airspace is a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law, that it's an irresponsible act."
Blinken said, however, that he told Wang "the United States is committed to diplomatic engagement with China and that I plan to visit Beijing when conditions allow."

Meanwhile, Beijing said Saturday that US media and politicians had taken advantage of US allegations that China flew an espionage balloon over the northwest United States.

The discovery of the balloon prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday to cancel a rare planned trip to Beijing.
Moments before the decision to scrap the visit -- aimed at easing tensions between the two countries -- China issued a rare statement of regret and blamed winds for pushing what it called a civilian airship into US airspace.
On Saturday, China's foreign ministry released another statement addressing Blinken's announcement.
"China... never violated the territory and airspace of any sovereign country," it said.

"Some politicians and media in the United States used the (balloon) incident as a pretext to attack and smear China."    �AFP







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