China has accused US lawmakers of trampling on the sovereignty of other nations after the US passed a measure condemning a suspected Chinese spy balloon’s intrusion into its airspace.
The statement issued yesterday by the Chinese National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee repeated Beijing’s insistence that the balloon was an unmanned civilian weather research airship, a claim the US has dismissed, citing its flight route and payload of surveillance equipment.
While China at first expressed regret over the Feb. 4 incident, it has toughened its rhetoric in a sign of deteriorating relations between the sides.
Photo: AP
On Wednesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would take measures against US entities related to the downing of the balloon, without giving details.
The resolution passed unanimously by the US House of Representatives “deliberately exaggerated the ‘China threat,’” the committee’s statement said.
That was “purely malicious hype and political manipulation,” it said. “Some US Congress politicians fanned the flames, fully exposing their sinister designs to oppose China and contain China.”
“In fact, it is the United States that wantonly interferes in other countries’ internal affairs, violates their sovereignty and conducts surveillance on other countries,” it said.
A range of Chinese government departments have issued daily protests over how the US handled the issue, accusing Washington of overreacting and violating “the spirit of international law.”
Beijing has offered no details on companies or government departments responsible for the giant balloon, the remnants of which are being sent to an FBI lab for analysis.
Along with Congress’ passing of the resolution, the US has sanctioned six Chinese entities it said are linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also canceled a visit to Beijing, putting an abrupt freeze on what some had seen as momentum for a stabilization in relations that have plunged amid disputes over Taiwan, trade, human rights and China’s claim to the South China Sea.
The US House resolution condemned China for a “brazen violation” of US sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”
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