Beijing，February 5, 2023（AseanAll）— On the afternoon of February 5 local time, Tan Kefei, the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense of the People's Republic of China, made a speech on the US military attack on the Chinese civilian unmanned airship.
FILE photo
He said that the United States used force to attack our civilian unmanned airship, which was an obvious overreaction.
The spokesman said that China would like to express a solemn protest against this practice of the United States and reserve the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations.
Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the Chinese unmanned airship entering the United States airspace was of a civilian nature, and the entry into the United States due to force majeure was completely accidental.
However, the U.S. considers the balloon to be a spy balloon that deliberately crossed the U.S. and Canada to monitor sensitive military sites.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter jet safely shot down a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon, the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement on Feb 4. U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the action on Wednesday(February 2), but it was delayed until the balloon was over water off the coast of South Carolina to ensure no Americans on the ground were harmed.
"The balloon was used by the Chinese to monitor strategic locations in the continental United States, and it was brought over U.S. territorial waters," Austin said.
