US reaction to Chinese balloon 'hysterical', says Chinese media
A jet flies by a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floats off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Randall Hill
The way the Joe Biden administration handled the Chinese balloon case highlighted how ‘immature, irresponsible and hysterical' the US was in dealing with the matter, Chinese publication DailyChina said on Friday.
According to the author, US officials, media and political pundits claimed that the device was a "spy balloon" without any evidence and despite China’s explanation that it was a meteorological research balloon.
The author maintained that it did not make sense for China to spy on the US using a balloon the size of three school buses when “modern surveillance satellites can do a much better job”.
He claimed that no country used surveillance more than the US itself.
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The article said that the “overreaction” to the incident came after a decrease in Biden’s approval ratings and US citizens’ dissatisfaction with the incumbent government.
Commenting on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing his visit to China, the author said that a bad precedent had been set in for the future handling of similar cases. He highlighted that China did not fire at the real US military spy plane EP3 when it made an emergency landing on Hainan Island “without any permission” from authorities.
The piece in the Chinese publication concluded that shooting down a civilian research balloon that travelled off-course was not the “proper” method to employ and that the US should have reacted in a calmer way as a conflict between China and the US could have global repercussions.