The Shadow
China’s initial reaction to the US shooting down its high-altitude surveillance balloon on Feb. 4 was to be apologetic after claiming it was a civilian weather balloon that was blown off course.
Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, toughened China’s stance at a press conference on Feb. 15 by indicating that China would retaliate for the incident.
He restated China’s position that the high-altitude balloon was nothing more than a weather balloon that was accidentally blown off course, an unintended act due to force majeure.
China has countered with claims that U.S. balloons have flown over Tibet and China, and the official government position is that it will take undisclosed countermeasures against the U.S.
On Feb. 16, President Joe Biden responded to the U.S. Air Force shooting down of three UFOs during the past weekend, one over Alaska, one over Canada and one over Lake Huron. He indicated that he has no reason to believe that those three UFOs that were shot down are part of China’s espionage program.
On Feb. 16, China put Lockheed Martin, a unit of Raytheon Technologies on an “unreliable entities list,” one that prohibits imports and exports.
The reason for the action was the sale of weapons to Taiwan. Taiwan has recently threatened to shoot down Chinese balloons should they enter its air space, and China’s military buildup in the South China Sea near Taiwan has created escalating tensions between China and Taiwan.
On Feb. 15, two days prior to the U.S. meeting with Chinese diplomats concerning the shooting down of the aerial Chinese airship, Vice-President Kamala Harris expressed her opinion that the incident would not have a negative impact on U.S.-China relations.
The U.S. Congress has expressed its concern about the Chinese balloons that have been spotted near Guam where the U.S. Navy and Air Force have a significant military presence in the western Pacific.
