China on Monday accused American balloons of violating its airspace more than a dozen times since early 2022 over tensions between Beijing and Washington after a Chinese plane overflyed the United States.
In early February, the US military shot down a Chinese balloon presented by the Pentagon as a spy balloon designed to gather sensitive information.
The device’s destruction was strongly denounced by China, which ensures it is a simple civilian aerostat that has deviated from its trajectory.
Since that incident, other flying objects have been sighted over Canada and the United States before being shot down.
The nature of these devices and their affiliation is not yet known.
Asked about these questions, Beijing assured on Monday that American balloons had violated its airspace.
“In the last year alone, American balloons have flown over (the territory of) China more than 10 times without permission,” spokesman for Chinese diplomacy Wang Wenbin told reporters.
He did not elaborate on the incidents, urging reporters to “refer to the US side.”
However, he assured that these abuses had been handled “responsibly and professionally” by Beijing.