China Accuses US of Sending Spy Planes to Trespass on Exercises

China has accused the United States of flying a U-2 spy plane within an area of airspace that is closed for China's military training exercises. The United States quickly denied the allegation.

Spying on China

On August 26, CNN reported that Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, made the accusation in a statement and added that the action of the United States could have resulted in misjudgments or accidents from the Chinese military forces.

Wu said that the trespass affected the normal exercises and the training activities of the Chinese military and that the US military violated the rules of behavior for air and maritime safety between China and the United States.

Wu added that the US also violated the relevant intentional practices and that the action could have resulted in accidents or misjudgments.

Also Read: Malaysia Starting to a Acquire Drones and Manned Maritime Patrol Aircraft Against China

Meanwhile, the U.S Pacific Air Forces released a statement and denied that the flight had entered unauthorized airspace and asserted that the United States would continue such flights as allowed under international law, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The branch's statement read that the U-2 sortie was conducted in the Indo-Pacific area of operations and within the accepted international rules and regulations governing aircraft flights. Pacific Air Forces personnel will continue to fly and to operate anywhere that is allowed by international law.

China's relations to the US

The relationship between China and the United States have been deteriorating in the past months over numerous incidents, including U.S intelligence officials accusing Chinese researchers of hiding information about the COVID-19 pandemic from China's government.

U.S intelligence officials also arrested a Chinese researcher who took refuge in San Francisco. U.S officials also ordered a Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas, to close down after determining it to be a part of a larger espionage effort that targets U.S companies.

The decision of the Trump administration to close down the Chinese consulate in Houston was due to a spying accusation.

Before that decision, the administration has sanctioned high-level Chinese officials, revoked Hong Kong's commercial status, and delivered several high-level speeches that are directed at China.

Meanwhile, China retaliated by ordering the US to close its consulate in Chengdu. Trump has claimed to be tough on China since 2016, but he has often been friendly towards Chinese President Xi Jinping, praising him in his speeches months before the coronavirus pandemic.

Only when the Trump administration failed to contain the virus have they pivoted to a hard stance, calling the virus "China virus" and blaming China for starting and spreading it.

Just recently, President Trump also called for the banning of the famous social media platform TikTok, in fears of the app stealing personal information of its users. This, of course, is all allegations and no proof has been presented, as reported by The Guardian.

The Chinese tech giant, Huawei, is also banned from the United States, with the Trump administration cutting off all of the company's resources to halt any plans of launching 5G technology in the country. This move is also in response to the alleged hacking and stealing of personal information of Americans.