Balloon Wars

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China on Sunday criticized the United States’ decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over US territory, an incident that further strained relations between the world’s two largest economies, The Hill reported.

China admitted the balloon was their property but dismissed allegations it was being used for surveillance. Chinese officials said its purpose was meteorological research and that it had deviated because of strong winds and a lack of steering ability.

Beijing also accused US officials of hyping up the situation in order to “attack and smear China,” adding that it reserves the right to make “further responses that are necessary.”

On Thursday, the US military said it detected a Chinese balloon entering US airspace after flying over the Aleutian Islands and Canada. Pentagon officials said the object was flying at an altitude of 60,000 feet and moving eastward across the continental US, but did not pose a threat to civil aviation.

While it would have limited use in collecting intelligence, they added that the balloon flew over Montana, a state that is home to three nuclear missile silo fields, according to NBC News.

On Saturday, the US military shot down the balloon as it flew off the coast of South Carolina to prevent debris from falling on civilians on the ground. The military is trying to retrieve the remains of the balloon to gather intelligence data.

The balloon was spotted only days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was to depart for China in a visit to improve relations, the highest level official to visit in years.

After the discovery, Blinken postponed the trip.

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials said another alleged Chinese spy balloon was spotted flying over Costa Rica, Politico noted.

Analysts said it is unclear why China would dispatch such vehicles over the US and Costa Rica at the same time because Beijing has space-based satellites that can reliably monitor the same terrain.