China criticizes the drop of the US ball and says it will use “necessary means” in similar situations

China is said to “reserve the right” to deal with “similar situations” after the United States’ decision to shoot down its high-altitude balloon.

“The US will use force to attack our unmanned civilian airships, which is an obvious overreaction. We express solemn protest against this action on the side of the United States”, said the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of China, Tan Kefei, in a statement on Sunday afternoon, local time.

China “reserves the right to use the necessary means to deal with similar situations”, he added.

This Sunday (5), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China accused the US of “exaggerating” and “seriously violating international practice”, after American military fighters shot down the balloon on Saturday (4) over the Atlantic Ocean in a mission that o President Joe Biden saudou como um sucesso.

The United States accredited that the balloon was involved in espionage, but China refuted this, insisting that it was a civilian research vessel diverted from course.

“The Chinese side repeatedly informed the two US sides after verification that it was directed for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure – It was completely an accident”, said the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

“Força majeure” is a legal term that means “força maior”. He is partly responsible if an unforeseen event, such as a natural catastrophe, prevents him from fulfilling his contractual obligations.

“China clearly asked the US to deal with it in a calm, professional and content manner. A spokesperson for the US Department of Defense also affirmed that the ball will not represent a military or personal threat to the ground personnel”, continued the statement of the ministry.

“China will resolutely safeguard the rights and legitimate interests of the relevant companies, reserving the right to take other necessary measures”, added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chinese state media announced on Saturday that the chief of the country’s meteorological service had been excused from his duties, in a move seen by some analysts as an attempt to reinforce Beijing’s position that the high-altitude bomb was primarily civilian in nature. for meteorological purposes.

Zhuang Guotai was the chief of the China Meteorological Administration at the sixth fair, but his departure from office was not unexpected.

In late January, Zhuang was elected chef of the Popular Political Advisory Committee of western Gansu Province, or provincial political advisory body.

The American authorities will deny China’s repeated allegations that the dropped balloon was simply for civilian use and had entered American airspace by “accident.”

“This was a surveillance ball from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This surveillance balloon intentionally crossed the United States and Canada and we are confident that it sought to monitor sensitive military locations”, said a senior US government official.

The official said that a second balloon, sighted over Central and South America, was “another RPC surveillance balloon” and presented similar technical characteristics to the one that flew over the USA.

“Both the balls also carry surveillance equipment that is generally not associated with standard meteorological activities or civil investigation,” said the official.

“Ponytail capsule equipment and solar panels located on the metal trellis suspended below the ball are a prominent feature of both balls.”

Pentagon officials said at the beginning of this week that the ball did not represent any “military or physical” threat.

The USA will decide not to shoot down the balloon as long as it remains on land due to the risk of destruction, they will fire a civilian and, instead, will wait until it is over the ocean.

The US military will now focus our debris recovery efforts.

The incident is the most recent in a series of cases of espionage and food or a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Washington.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan authorities said on Sunday that the Chinese shooting incident “should not be tolerated by the civilized international community.”

The autonomous island, which China claims as part of its territory, despite never being controlled by it, has experienced similar balls flying over its territory.

“Those actions of the government of the Chinese Communist Party violate international law, violate the air space of other countries and violate their sovereignty,” said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan in a statement, asking the Chinese government to “immediately cease such conduct type that invades other countries and causes regional instability”.

Ballons that are accredited will be used for “meteorological observations” over the island in September 2021 and in February 2022, according to the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan.

But it is still not clear if these balls were of the same type as those shot down by American fighters on Saturday.