The affair surrounding alleged Chinese spy balloons continues. Beijing is stepping up its criticism of Washington – the US is trying to calm things down. A balloon is also sighted over Costa Rica.
After the USA shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, another balloon flies over Central America. After Colombia and Venezuela, Costa Rica also reported that a Chinese balloon had been sighted. The Central American country’s foreign ministry said the Chinese embassy in San Jose regretted the incident.
The balloon is for scientific purposes only, the embassy argued. He had deviated from his route because of the weather conditions and lack of controllability. After the incident with the first balloon over the United States, the State Department in Beijing had already admitted that a second “civilian” balloon had gone astray.
The US military shot down the first Chinese balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. Washington accused China of wanting to use the balloon to spy on military installations. The government in Beijing, on the other hand, spoke of a civilian research balloon that had gone off course.
Beijing on balloon launch: “Clear overreaction”
China stepped up its criticism of the US for launching the balloon. “He posed no threat to any person or to US national security,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning in Beijing. The US should deal with such incidents “in a calm and professional manner” without resorting to violence. The launch was a “clear overreaction”. When asked if China was demanding the balloon be returned, the spokeswoman only said, “The airship does not belong to the United States.”
The US is recovering the debris from the balloon from the sea to gain information about the mission. A return to China is probably not intended. US National Security Council communications director John Kirby said in Washington: “I am not aware of any such intent or any plans to return it.”
The balloon was about 61 meters high and probably weighed as much as a small airliner, said US Northern Command commander Glen VanHerck. The debris field has an approximate size of 1500 by 1500 meters. Due to the swell, the work at a depth of around 15 meters was initially difficult.
China is now portraying itself as a victim
However, the United States wants to avoid a deterioration in its already ailing relations with China. “There is no reason for the tensions in our bilateral relationship to escalate into some sort of conflict,” Kirby said. The US would have defended its airspace and its country – and acted in accordance with international law.
After the balloon appeared over the United States last week, Foreign Minister Antony Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing at short notice. It would have been the first visit by a US Secretary of State to China in more than four years. Both sides had indicated that they wanted to stabilize the badly battered relationship.
China is now portraying itself as the victim of a domestic political infighting in the US. The launch did not end the balloon affair, as US politicians continued their rhetoric about a “Chinese threat” and fueled political strife between Republicans and Democrats – regardless of the The Global Times, published by the People’s Daily, complained about the impact on relations with China.
“Turning a force majeure accident into a farce highlights US incompetence in dealing with a crisis,” the paper commented. “The US’s rude handling of the balloon incident is a serious provocation that risks derailing relations.”
The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger, advised the two countries to exercise prudence. The United States and China, like other countries, have used satellite reconnaissance, electronic reconnaissance and many other means of intelligence gathering for decades, he told television broadcaster phoenix. He considers it questionable that there are obviously no communication channels for crises.
Source: Stern

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