China Threatens ‘Countermeasures’ Against U.S. After Spy Balloon Takedown

China threatened to take “countermeasures” against United States entities over the takedown of their spy balloon earlier this month.

QUICK FACTS:
  • China warned this week that it would take action against the U.S. after its spy balloon flying over North American airspace was shot down.
  • “China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures in accordance with the law against the relevant U.S. entities that undermine China’s sovereignty and security,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a briefing.
  • Although Wenbin did not go into detail surrounding what the “countermeasures” would entail, he said Beijing will “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and its legitimate rights and interests.”
CHINESE SPOKESPERSON WANG WENBIN ON THE UNITED STATES’ TAKEDOWN OF THE SURVEILLANCE BALLOON:

“We do need to point out, however, that the U.S.’s downing of the unmanned airship with advanced missiles is a trigger-happy overreaction,” WENBIN said.

BACKGROUND:
  • The U.S. military shot down the first known Chinese spy balloon flying in airspace over the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month.
  • According to Air Force General Glen D. VanHerck, the military was investigating whether the 200-foot-tall balloon was carrying explosives.
  • “So, I can’t confirm whether it had explosives or not. Anytime you down something like this, we make an assumption that that potential exists,” VanHerck said last week.
  • “We did not associate the potential of having explosives with a threat to dropping weapons, those kinds of things, but out of a precaution, abundance of safety for not only our military people and the public, we have to make assumptions such as that,” the general continued.

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