China hints that it would like its balloon back

China provided a hint that it wants the downed balloon back, insisting that the surveillance craft belongs to China, not to the United States. China insists that it was civilian in nature and that the U.S. did not act in a calm and professional manner. Meanwhile, debris recovery efforts are underway. Officials ask that people do not collect spy balloon related debris that wash ashore.

From Fox News:

Asked for additional information regarding the purpose of the spy balloon and reports of similar aircraft making routes through North American and South American airspace, Mao declined.

“The Chinese side has given information about the unmanned airship on several occasions. I don’t have anything to add at the moment,” she stated.

The Pentagon said it “acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information” from the spy platform. But geopolitical experts said there is little reason to believe those efforts were successful as the balloon almost certainly transferred surveillance data over to China as it flew over several military bases.

Asked if China has requested that the debris from the destroyed aircraft be returned, Mao said Tuesday, “The airship does not belong to the U.S. It belongs to China.”

Mao reiterated in her Tuesday press conference the Chinese Communist Party’s claim that the balloon was civilian in nature and criticized the U.S. government for not acting in a “calm and professional manner.”

“The unmanned Chinese airship is of civilian nature. Its unintended entry into U.S. airspace is entirely unexpected and caused by force majeure. It didn’t pose any threat to any person or to the national security of the U.S. The U.S. should have properly handled such incidents in a calm and professional manner not involving the use of force, yet they decided to do otherwise, which is a clear overreaction.”

Fox News has additional information here.

Category: Big Pentagon, China