The People’s Republic of China has accused the US House of Representatives of “scoring political points” by passing a resolution on Thursday condemning Chinese use of a surveillance plane it shot down last week.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning addressed the resolution at a news conference on Friday.
US AND ALLIES HOLD JOINT AIR FORCE EXERCISE TARGET CHINA AFTER SPY SHOOTING
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning gestures during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing on Thursday, October 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Liu Zheng, Files)
“The Chinese side has repeatedly shared information and stated its position on the involuntary entry of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” Mao said.
The House resolution condemns China for the incursion and says it should be US policy to “act promptly and decisively to prevent foreign aerial surveillance.” It also calls on the Biden administration to take several steps to explain to Congress how it handled the incident, a set of instructions that could explain why some Democrats voted against it.
“The resolution of the US Congress is all about political scoring and dramatization of the whole thing,” Mao said. “China deplores this and strongly opposes it.”
CHINA WANTS TO RETURN ITS SHOT SPY PLANE, SAYING IT ‘DOESN’T BELONG TO US’
A large balloon drifts over the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of South Carolina with a fighter jet and its contrail seen below it on Saturday, Feb. 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
Earlier this week, senior military and national security officials confirmed that the downed balloon was tied to a major surveillance program operated by the Chinese military. The program is based on outdated balloon technology coupled with modern signal surveillance techniques. The balloons travel through the upper atmosphere, hovering between 60,000 and 80,000 feet above the Earth, above where commercial jets travel.
The balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina by a United States military fighter aircraft on Saturday afternoon. A senior US military official said an F-22 was used to shoot down the balloon at 58,000 feet with a single A9X missile.
When asked about the nature of the aircraft’s equipment, Mao replied, “I don’t have the information.”
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FBI Special Agents assigned to the Evidence Response Team process material recovered from the high-altitude balloon recovered off the coast of South Carolina. The material was processed and transported to the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia. (FBI)
Most of the evidence relating to the Chinese surveillance aircraft it’s still underwater, FBI officials told Fox News.
Divers are currently salvaging the wreck area, described as a “large-scale scene,” for debris, according to senior FBI officials. Diving operations will continue in the days and weeks to come, for as long as necessary.
Mark Meredith of Fox News contributed to this report.
