{"id":3771,"date":"2023-02-07T15:32:42","date_gmt":"2023-02-07T15:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3771"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:53:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:53:30","slug":"china-says-defend-its-interests-over-baloon-shotdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/analysis\/defense\/china-says-defend-its-interests-over-baloon-shotdown\/2023\/02\/07\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"China aims to ‘defend interests’ over “Balloon Shootdown”"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIJING<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span>\u00a0China<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> it<\/span> would<\/span> “resolutely<\/span> defend<\/span> its<\/span> legitimate<\/span> rights<\/span> and<\/span> interests”<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> launch<\/span> of<\/span> an<\/span> alleged<\/span> Chinese<\/span> spy<\/span> balloon<\/span> as<\/span> relations<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> continue<\/span> to<\/span> sour.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> balloon<\/span> prompted<\/span> Secretary<\/span> of<\/span> State<\/span> Anthony<\/span> Brinken<\/span> to<\/span> cancel<\/span> a<\/span> much-anticipated<\/span> visit<\/span> to<\/span> Beijing<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> that<\/span> had<\/span> raised<\/span> faint<\/span> hopes<\/span> of<\/span> improved<\/span> relations.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Foreign<\/span> Ministry<\/span> spokesman<\/span> Mao<\/span> Ning<\/span> reiterated<\/span> on<\/span> Tuesday<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> “unmanned<\/span> airship”<\/span> posed<\/span> no<\/span> threat<\/span> and<\/span> accidentally<\/span> entered<\/span> US<\/span> airspace.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mao<\/span> Zedong<\/span> again<\/span> criticized<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> for<\/span> overreacting<\/span> instead<\/span> of<\/span> acting<\/span> “calm<\/span> and<\/span> professional”,<\/span> causing<\/span> a<\/span> balloon<\/span> to<\/span> crash<\/span> violently<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Atlantic<\/span> Ocean<\/span> just<\/span> off<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> coast<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>When<\/span> asked<\/span> if<\/span> China<\/span> wanted<\/span> the<\/span> debris<\/span> returned,<\/span> she<\/span> repeated<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> balloons<\/span> “belong<\/span> to<\/span> China.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“The<\/span> balloon<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> belong<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States.<\/span> The<\/span> Chinese<\/span> government<\/span> will<\/span> continue<\/span> to<\/span> resolutely<\/span> defend<\/span> its<\/span> legitimate<\/span> rights<\/span> and<\/span> interests,”<\/span> Mao<\/span> said<\/span> at<\/span> daily<\/span> briefings,<\/span> without<\/span> elaborating<\/span> further.<\/span> Beijing’s<\/span> stance<\/span> has<\/span> stiffened<\/span> considerably<\/span> after<\/span> Friday’s<\/span> surprisingly<\/span> calm<\/span> initial<\/span> reaction.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Subsequent<\/span> comments<\/span> were<\/span> firmer,<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> same<\/span> tone<\/span> used<\/span> to<\/span> confront<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> over<\/span> questions<\/span> from<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> about<\/span> trade,<\/span> technology<\/span> restrictions<\/span> and<\/span> China’s<\/span> claims<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> South<\/span> China<\/span> Sea.<\/span> It<\/span> said<\/span> it<\/span> had<\/span> filed<\/span> a<\/span> formal<\/span> complaint<\/span> with<\/span> Washington,<\/span> accusing<\/span> Washington<\/span> of<\/span> “clear<\/span> overreaction<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> gross<\/span> violation<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> spirit<\/span> of<\/span> international<\/span> law<\/span> and<\/span> practice.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Recent<\/span> developments<\/span> have<\/span> revealed<\/span> what<\/span> many<\/span> hoped<\/span> would<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> manageable<\/span> economic,<\/span> political<\/span> and<\/span> military<\/span> race,<\/span> but<\/span> a<\/span> very<\/span> fragile<\/span> one.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Tensions<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> China<\/span> have<\/span> caused<\/span> deep<\/span> concern<\/span> for<\/span> Washington<\/span> and<\/span> many<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> allies.<\/span> They<\/span> worry<\/span> that<\/span> blatant<\/span> conflict<\/span> could<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> huge<\/span> negative<\/span> impact<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> global<\/span> economy,<\/span> especially<\/span> since<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> last<\/span> year.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>From<\/span> Japan<\/span> to<\/span> Costa<\/span> Rica,<\/span> balloons<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> sighted<\/span> over<\/span> countries<\/span> suspected<\/span> or<\/span> confirmed<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> Chinese.<\/span> Taiwanese<\/span> media<\/span> have<\/span> reported<\/span> sightings<\/span> of<\/span> mysterious<\/span> white<\/span> balloons<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> island<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> three<\/span> times<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> two<\/span> years.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>China<\/span> claims<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> as<\/span> its<\/span> own<\/span> territory<\/span> and<\/span> must<\/span> seize<\/span> control<\/span> by<\/span> force<\/span> if<\/span> necessary.<\/span> This<\/span> is<\/span> of<\/span> particular<\/span> concern<\/span> since<\/span> we<\/span> are<\/span> sending<\/span> it<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> midline<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> strait.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Taiwan’s<\/span> Ministry<\/span> of<\/span> Defense<\/span> has<\/span> never<\/span> explicitly<\/span> linked<\/span> balloons<\/span> to<\/span> China.<\/span> But<\/span> the<\/span> recent<\/span> excitement<\/span> over<\/span> Chinese<\/span> balloons<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> has<\/span> put<\/span> these<\/span> mysterious<\/span> sightings<\/span> back<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> spotlight.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> size<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Chinese-made<\/span> balloon<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> equipment<\/span> attached<\/span> to<\/span> it<\/span> led<\/span> to<\/span> intense<\/span> speculation<\/span> as<\/span> to<\/span> its<\/span> purpose.<\/span> Along<\/span> with<\/span> Washington,<\/span> most<\/span> security<\/span> experts<\/span> dismissed<\/span> Beijing’s<\/span> claims<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> balloons<\/span> were<\/span> for<\/span> weather<\/span> observation,<\/span> not<\/span> spying.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>While<\/span> China<\/span> has<\/span> softened<\/span> the<\/span> aggressive<\/span> tone<\/span> of<\/span> its<\/span> diplomacy<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> months,<\/span> it<\/span> “continues<\/span> to<\/span> pursue<\/span> these<\/span> broader,<\/span> longer-term<\/span> strategic<\/span> challenges<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> forefront<\/span> of<\/span> economic,<\/span> technological<\/span> and<\/span> security,”<\/span> the<\/span> defence<\/span> ministry<\/span> said.<\/span> Institute<\/span> researcher<\/span> Colin<\/span> Ko<\/span> Swee<\/span> Leen<\/span> said.<\/span> Strategic<\/span> Studies<\/span> at<\/span> Nanyang<\/span> Technological<\/span> University,<\/span> Singapore.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIJING (Reuters) –\u00a0China said on Tuesday it would “resolutely defend its legitimate rights and interests” in the United States launch of an alleged Chinese spy balloon as relations between the two countries continue to sour. The balloon prompted Secretary of State Anthony Brinken to cancel a much-anticipated visit to Beijing this week that had raised […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[26,24,276,280,2425,2428,2480,2482],"tags":[960,1017,77,152,188],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/balonchina.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3771"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3771"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3776,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3771\/revisions\/3776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}