Balloon affair: China and the United States accuse each other of espionage

Sébastien Le Belzic (in Beijing) with AFP 9:44 a.m., February 15, 2023

The case was confusing, it could become embarrassing: the United States admitted on Tuesday that the flying objects they shot down at the end of last week, with a missed missile launch, were perhaps "harmless".

The White House has so far "no indication" that these three mysterious objects are of Chinese origin or have had spy functions, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

This distinguishes them from the Chinese balloon shot down on February 4 and which Washington still categorically claims was intended to collect information on sensitive military sites.

What Beijing denies.

For its part, China accuses the United States of having flown over its territory with aircraft in recent months.

These accusations by the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy are still making headlines this Wednesday morning in the nationalist press such as the

, mouthpiece of the Communist Party, which calls the United States the Empire of espionage.

This is to say the level of tension here.

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A dozen American spy balloons have flown over Chinese territory, according to Beijing

According to the Chinese government, a dozen American spy balloons flew over its territory.

"Since May of last year, without the approval of Chinese authorities, the United States has launched several high-altitude balloons that have conducted flights around the world, illegally flying over China's airspace at at least ten times. The US side should thoroughly investigate and provide an explanation to China," said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinese media also reported that an unidentified flying object had been spotted off the coast of China in recent days and that the military was preparing to shoot it down.

Washington denies these overflights of China.