In response to the downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the American East Coast, China announced on Wednesday that it would take action against American entities.
The spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin, did not provide any specifics or mention the measures’ intended targets during a daily briefing.
China claims the balloon was an unmanned weather airship that was accidentally blown off course, and it accuses the United States of overreacting by shooting a missile from an F-22 fighter plane at it in an attempt to bring it down.
Since the balloon was brought down on February 4, the US has imposed sanctions on six Chinese organizations it claims are connected to Beijing’s aerospace initiatives.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also postponed a trip to Beijing that many had hoped would mend relations that have deteriorated due to disagreements over trade, human rights, Taiwan, and China’s claim to the South China Sea.
The U.S. House of Representatives subsequently unanimously voted to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”
China hasn’t yet revealed which government agency or business was in charge of the balloon, even though it disputes that it was a military tool.
After first regretting the balloon’s incursion into American airspace, China has accused the United States of eavesdropping on it and threatened revenge.
At the briefing on Wednesday, Wang stated that China “strongly opposes this and will take countermeasures by the law against the relevant U.S. enterprises that harm China’s sovereignty and security.”
Wang stated that China will “vigorously protect national sovereignty and its lawful rights and interests.”
Also, on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel stated that the entrance of the Chinese balloon was evidenced in Beijing’s aggressive approach.
Emanuel brought up China’s recent use of a military-grade laser on a Philippine coast guard patrol boat, Chinese airplanes harassing American aircraft, and China opening unauthorized police posts in the United States, Ireland, and other nations.
Emanuel declared, “The balloon is not an isolated incident to me.”
China must operate by some fundamental precepts if it hopes to be respected by the international world.
That is, you don’t establish police stations abroad while being ignorant of their legal systems and acting as if your laws are universal, he said.
Regarding China’s outreach to nations in the Asia-Pacific region, the ambassador stated, “This is not exactly the attributes and characteristics of the good neighbor policy.”
At least three flying objects that have been seen in Japanese airspace since 2019 are most likely Chinese spy balloons, according to the defense ministry of Japan on Tuesday. It claimed to have objected and asked Beijing for an explanation.
Senior MPs in the ruling party in Japan indicated on Wednesday that they were thinking about extending the Self-Defense Force statute to cover foreign balloons that violate Japanese airspace.
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