US High-Altitude Balloons Repeatedly Flew Over China, Chinese Foreign Ministry Says

BEIJING (Sputnik) - The United States must stop misleading the international community and accept the fact that US high-altitude balloons have violated China's airspace on multiple occasions since last year, including over Xinjiang and Tibet, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Last week, the US military shot down four unidentified aircraft in its airspace, including what it claimed to be a Chinese surveillance balloon, despite Beijing's insistence that it was a civilian aircraft carrying out science research. On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said US high-altitude balloons had violated Chinese airspace at least 10 times since last year, a statement US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson rejected as false.

"We have already pointed out that since last year, more specifically since last May, the US has released multiple high-altitude balloons from its territory, which continue to circle the globe. They have made at least 10 unauthorized entries into Chinese airspace, including above Xinjiang and Tibet," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a briefing.

Wang said China repeatedly provided the US with explanations as to why its balloon mistakenly went off course due to a contingency, whereas the US never provided explanations on its own balloons' illegal entry into Chinese airspace.

"The US must provide explanations to China and the international community, profoundly rethink its actions, and stop libeling and attacking China, as well as stop misleading the American people and the international community. China reserves the right to a further adequate response," the spokesman said.

The spokesman contrasted China's "calm and professional" reaction to breaches of its airspace by US balloons with that of the US military, which he considers excessive.