China Alleges US Balloons Entered its Airspace ‘More Than 10 Times’ Since January 2022

China-US Spy Balloon Row: Relations between the US and China have strained in recent weeks in the wake of Washington's decision to shoot down the alleged spy balloon in early February, which Beijing has insisted was for civilian purposes.

Beijing: Amid the ongoing row over ‘spy’ balloons, Beijing has now alleged that balloons from the United States flew into China’s airspace “more than 10 times” since January 2022. The allegation from Beijing came days after an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down by the United States. “It’s not uncommon as well for the US to illegally enter the airspace of other countries," China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during a briefing. “Since last year alone, US balloons have illegally flown above China more than 10 times without any approval from Chinese authorities," he added.

Asked how China responded to those alleged incursions, Wang said Beijing’s “handling (of these incidents) was responsible and professional". “If you want to know more about US high-altitude balloons illegally entering China’s airspace, I suggest you refer to the US side," he added.

It may be recalled that the ties between the US and China have strained in recent weeks in the wake of Washington's decision to shoot down the alleged spy balloon in early February, which Beijing has insisted was for civilian purposes.

A number of other such devices have since been shot down over the United States and Canada, though Beijing has only admitted that the first was one of its own. Meanwhile, a UFO-like was spotted over waters near Qingdao and the Chinese authorities were preparing to shoot it down, The Paper reported.

An employee at the marine development authority of Qingdao Jimo district said "relevant authorities" were preparing to take down the object, The Paper reported. The employee said fishermen in the region have been told to remain careful about safety, as per the news report. The development comes after US and Canada shot down three high-altitude airborne objects in recent days. 

An American fighter jet, acting on the orders of US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shot down another unidentified flying object on Saturday.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement on Twitter said, "I ordered the takedown of an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace." He said an American F-22 with the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is operated jointly by the United States and Canada, successfully fired at the object over the Yukon.

Trudeau also said he had spoken with US President Biden on Saturday afternoon. "Canadian Forces will now recover and analyze the wreckage of the object," he said in his Twitter post, adding, "Thank you to NORAD for keeping the watch over North America."

Meanwhile, the White House released a statement stating that Biden and Trudeau had "discussed the importance of recovering the object in order to determine more details on its purpose or origin."

White House on Friday (local time) confirmed that the US shot down a second `high altitude object` over Alaska. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the Department of Defense shot down a "high altitude object" that was in Alaska`s airspace in the last 24 hours. 

Last week, US military fighter aircraft shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon which was flying in its skies for a few days.