China slams US claims of espionage as 'complete slander'
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Officials from the Pentagon and US Defense Department admitted that the balloon did not gather any information on the country.
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A US Navy image shows sailors preparing materials to transport to the FBI on February 10, 2023. (US Navy via AP)
According to Mano Ning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, the US' characterization of a Chinese balloon shot down in US airspace in February as a "spy balloon" is a false accusation.
During a press briefing, Sputnik reported that Mao explained that the balloon had entered US airspace accidentally. The Spokesperson further slammed the US claims that China was spying as "complete slander," confirming that the balloon's intrusion into US airspace was an accident caused by a force majeure.
On his part, Pentagon Spokesperson Pat Ryder admitted on Thursday that although the balloon was capable of "intelligence collection capabilities," it did not gather intelligence while flying over the country.
The US Defense Department Spokesperson also stated Thursday that “we were aware that it had intelligence collection capabilities, but it has been our assessment now that it did not collect while it was transiting the United States."
This comes at a time when the US has made a barrage of comments about an alleged spy balloon that flew over the US in order to collect secret information.
In April, NBC News reported that a Chinese balloon managed to successfully collect critical data from several military sites with the Biden administration failing to prevent what they dubbed the "covert espionage mission."
Beijing has repeatedly accused the US of deliberately hyping up the balloon incident, and the latest news of US-made components and lack of transmissions back to China, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, hinted at what could be leaks to the press intended to scuttle any rapprochement.
Read more: US sent 'weather' balloons to spy on China, USSR in 1950s
Officials claim that balloons belonging to China have been located over five continents. It was also relayed that allies of the US believed to be a target of the "spy" balloon have been contacted as well. It was reported by US media, quoting a senior administration official that a briefing was conducted by Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on the matter for around 40 embassies.
Meanwhile, China asserted that the balloon seen above the US was a civilian airship doing scientific research.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
