Europe 1 with AFP 9:55 a.m., February 3, 2023
Two days after the overflight of a balloon in North America which the Pentagon suspects Beijing of being at the origin of the operation, China reacts.
Purpose ?
Avoid an escalation of tensions with the Americans.
This violation of the airspace questions Washington, which suspects a surveillance maneuver.
China said on Friday it was verifying US claims that a Chinese spy balloon had been detected over North America and called for "not to escalate matters".
The Pentagon announced Thursday to follow the trajectory in the airspace of the United States of a balloon, suspected of being used by Beijing for surveillance purposes.
"We have no doubt that the ball came from China," a senior US defense official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.
For its part, the Canadian Department of National Defense said in a statement on Friday that it was investigating “a second potential incident”.
When questioned, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for restraint.
"We are in the process of taking note of the situation and carrying out a verification. We hope that the two parties can handle this file with composure and prudence," said a spokeswoman for Chinese diplomacy, Mao Ning.
"Speculating and making things up before the facts are even established does not help in a proper resolution of the case," she said at a regular press conference.
China claims to "respect international law"
The balloon entered US airspace "about two days ago" but intelligence was already monitoring it, the top US defense official said Thursday.
This is not the first time that the US military has seen such an intrusion, the source said.
She said, however, that the balloon stayed in United States airspace much longer this time.
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"As a responsible country, China has always strictly abided by international law and has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of a sovereign state," Mao Ning said on Friday.