“China expresses strong displeasure and protests against the US forcefully attacking the unmanned civilian airship,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
China calls the decision to shoot down the balloon an obvious overreaction and that it “seriously violates international practice”.
Unacceptable violation
The balloon traveled in US airspace for several days before it was shot down by US warplanes off the coast at 21:00 on Saturday, Swedish time.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the shooting down a “deliberate and lawful act” in response to China’s “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”.
According to the US, it was a Chinese surveillance balloon with the purpose of gathering information. The balloon was seen, among other things, over the state of Montana where there is a military base with nuclear weapons.
China initially denied the allegations about the balloon over the US but later claimed it was a civilian craft collecting data for research purposes. According to the Chinese statement, the balloon had limited controllability and had “deviated far from the planned course” due to winds.
Diplomatic consequences
The US-suspected spy balloon had serious diplomatic consequences on Friday, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed an important visit to Beijing.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs writes on Sunday that it reserves the right to provide further necessary answers.
“China will resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies,” the State Department writes.