China, US tensions on the rise over alleged 'espionage' aerial objects

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Feb 15:39
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Despite the Chinese balloon incident, US officials show signs that Washington is not seeking to inject instability into already tense relations.

Sailors recover the suspected Chinese high-altitude balloon that was downed by the United States over US territorial waters off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Chinese and American diplomats have been exchanging remarks over the Chinese balloon that roamed Canada and US airspace for a week and was downed on February 4.

Since downing the balloon, the US military announced shooting down three more objects over sea ice near Deadhorse, Alaska, one over Canada's Yukon, and the third shot down over Lake Huron.

On Tuesday, the White House said it was still searching for debris from the most recent, unmanned objects and had not seen any indication they were part of China's spy program.

China insists that the balloon shot down on February 4 was a civilian weather-monitoring aircraft, accusing the US of sending its own balloons into Chinese airspace and other countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin pointed out that US balloons "flew around the world and illegally entered the airspaces of China and other relevant countries at least ten times," since May 2022.

Adrienne Watson, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, claimed on Monday that "any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the PRC is false."

The US has imposed sanctions on six Chinese entities it accuses of being tied to the balloon, which drew criticism from China on Tuesday.

However, US officials have shown signs that Washington is not seeking to inject instability into already tense relations.

US President Joe Biden said he does not believe relations between Beijing and Washington were weakened after the balloon incident.

In the same context, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who postponed a planned trip to Beijing over the discovery of the balloon, is considering meeting with China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Munich this week, sources said.

On Monday, the US military confirmed it had recovered critical electronics from the Chinese balloon, as well as large sections of the vessel itself, but did not recover the most recent three objects shot down, with tough weather conditions making recovery operations difficult.

White House Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday that no group or individual has claimed the three objects, noting that the US intelligence community believes they could be "tied to some commercial or benign purpose."

Reuters reported that top US defense and military officials on Tuesday held a classified briefing for senators at the Capitol, where the Republicans urged Biden to publicly share more information about the three objects.

After the briefing, Republican Senator Marco Rubio considered that 95% "of what was discussed in that room today can be made public without compromising the security of this country."