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"Since last year, the U.S.'s high-altitude balloons have
undergone more than 10 illegal flights into Chinese airspace
without the approval of the relevant Chinese departments,"
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a
regular briefing in Beijing in response to a question.
Wang did not specifically describe the balloons as military or
for espionage purposes and did not provide further details.
Asked how China had responded to such incursions into its
airspace, Wang said its responses had been "responsible and
professional".
The U.S. defense department did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
China's assertion comes after the United States shot down what
it says was a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South
Carolina on Feb. 4 after it had drifted across the continental
United States for days.
In resposne to the Chinese balloon, the United States postponed
a visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
China says the balloon was a civilian research craft that had
mistakenly blown off course and accused the United States of
overreacting.
"The first thing the U.S. side should do is to look at itself,
to change its ways, not to smear and incite confrontation," Wang
said.
In recent days, the U.S. military has shot down three other
flying objects over North America.
Wang said he had no information on the latest three objects shot
down by the United States.
(Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; Writing by Tony Munroe)
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