China has threatened to take “countermeasures” against US interests after the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spycraft.
In a news conference held on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Wenbin, was noncommittal when it came to discussing suggested countermeasures.
During the course of this month, three objects have been successfully intercepted while flying over northern America.
Extreme Displeasure and Likely Counter Measures
On Friday last week, the American military successfully intercepted and destroyed a “high-altitude object” that was traveling across the airspace of the Arctic and Alaska.
The United States initially did not know who controlled the object, which National Security Council spokesman John Kirby refused to refer to as a balloon. This item was similar to the one that reportedly belonged to Chinese authorities and was shot down off the coast of the Carolinas.
On Wednesday, the government of the People’s Republic of China issued a threat to take legal action against the U.S. agencies that were responsible for the destruction of one of China’s surveillance drones and its subsequent recovery.
During a news briefing, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued the ambiguous warning.
Wang stated China takes a hard stance against this and would take countermeasures in line with the law against any relevant U.S. companies that attempt to undermine China’s integrity and security.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that U.S. high-altitude balloons had flown over its airspace without permission more than 10 times since the beginning of January 2022 https://t.co/1t7njpqYFN pic.twitter.com/yPqiaCqXiM
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 13, 2023
What Was the Gain?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been extremely critical of how the United States government handled the matter in recent weeks, blaming public officials for making a public spectacle out of a delicate subject.
Wang did not clarify what the intended “countermeasures” would be. Still, the spokesperson assured the communist nation would staunchly preserve national sovereignty, as well as its legitimate rights and interests.
China will take countermeasures against relevant US entities that have undermined its sovereignty and security after US blacklisted six Chinese entities citing the entry of a Chinese civilian airship into the US airspace as an excuse.
-FM spokesman Wang Wenbin pic.twitter.com/5KiHjLznm4— Caoli 曹利 (@Cao_Li_CHN) February 15, 2023
The surveillance balloons that the United States government shot down on February 4 over the waters off the coast of South Carolina have been a topic of debate. This has gone on every day in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During a press conference held on Monday, Wang stated his government needed to point out that the United States’ downing of the drone airship with advanced weapons was a trigger-happy response and they needed to emphasize this point.
The question of “what possible benefit might such an expensive move possibly bring to the United States of America and its taxpayers” has been asked by a significant number of people in the United States.
In the end, the conclusion is that China is ready to damn the consequences and go all out against the United States if provoked well enough. Hopefully, the tensions will die down soon, as we can’t afford a war against China.
This article appeared in The Political Globe and has been published here with permission.
