In the wee hours of this morning Beijing time, an unmanned airship from China was shot down by the United States. The Chinese side has made a serious démarche to the US side and expressed strong disapproval and protest.

Previously, the US side informed the Chinese side that it detected in US airspace an unmanned airship that belongs to the Chinese government or the People’s Liberation Army. It expressed the hope for China to take measures for the airship to leave US space, but provided no further information.

Nevertheless, the Chinese side has acted with a responsible attitude, maintained close communication with the US side at various levels, and clearly asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner. After immediate, comprehensive verification, we confirmed that the unmanned airship is from China, of civilian nature and for the purpose of meteorological research. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course and entered US airspace. The Chinese side made the above-mentioned information available to the US side as soon as it was verified.

However, in disregard of the facts, the US side asserted that the Chinese civilian airship is a “spy balloon” and an affront to US sovereignty and international law. Some US politicians and media outlets even came up with sensational stories to attack and discredit China.

I wish to stress that as a responsible country, China strictly adheres to international law, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and has no intention to infringe upon the territory, including airspace, of any sovereign country. International law, including the Convention on International Civil Aviation, and international customary practice provide the rules for handling civil aircraft flying over another country’s airspace.

The Chinese airship is a civil aircraft with seriously limited self-steering capability that entered US airspace unintentionally due to force majeure. The spokesperson of the US Department of Defense also noted that “the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground”. The US use of force by firing advanced missiles from its military aircraft was a serious breach of international customary practice. It marked an escalation and exacerbation of the situation, and caused huge losses and grave implications. The Chinese side reserves the right to make further responses.

It is hoped that you will view this unexpected situation caused by force majeure in a reasonable, objective and just way, understand and support China’s position.