Monitoring Desk
BEIJING: China said on Friday it regretted an unintended violation of US airspace by what it described as a crewless civilian airship following the Pentagon said it was tracking a spy balloon of China.
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said, “The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research purposes, mainly meteorological purposes.”
The statement said that the Chinese side regrets the unintended breach of the United States airspace due to force majeure. The Pentagon Thursday said it was tracking a spy balloon of China flying high over the United States, with a senior defence official telling reporters that “the intent of this spy balloon is for surveillance.”
At United States President Joe Biden‘s request, American officials considered shooting the spy balloon down but concluded doing so would endanger several people on the ground; the official said while requesting anonymity.
US postpones Blinken’s visit to China
The incident occurred just days before a scheduled visit by the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China aimed at managing heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Beijing did not immediately identify Chinese origin of the balloon at a foreign ministry news briefing on Friday.
It admitted later, saying the civilian craft was blown off course. “Beijing will continue communicating with Washington and properly handle this unintended incident and unexpected situation caused by force majeure,” the statement said.
