Did US send over 10 balloons illegally into China's airspace?

  

For the first time in the 'spy balloon' saga, Beijing has accused Americans of sending their own balloons over China without permission.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said it's common for "US balloons to illegally enter" other countries' airspace, adding US high-altitude balloons had sailed across China's airspace without the approval of relevant Chinese authorities more than 10 times since last year alone.

Instead of slandering, discrediting, or inciting confrontation, Americans need to first reflect on themselves and change their own way, Wang added.

The accusation came almost two weeks into the row over the appearance and shooting down of a high-altitude Chinese balloon over US territory. The US calls it a surveillance balloon. But China has denied the allegation and accused Washington of overreacting by insisting on using force to take down the balloon, saying it was for civilian use and had entered the US airspace "completely accidentally".

The row even prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone an imminent trip to China last week.

After Americans took down three more unidentified flying objects since - over Alaska on Friday, Canada on Saturday, and Lake Huron in Michigan on Sunday - Beijing strengthened its criticism of Washington.

Wang even mentioned the US abusing its technological advantages to carry out large-scale wiretapping and theft operations against the world.

Amid the battle of words over the alleged surveillance balloon, another mystery flying object was detected on Sunday over waters near a northern Chinese port city close to the Bohai Sea, mainland media reported, adding local authorities said they were ready to take it down.

The balloon drama has intensified the already simmering geopolitical tensions between the two countries. On Friday, the US added six Chinese entities, including Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute, saying they had connections with Beijing's suspected "spy balloon" programme.

China would take countermeasures, Wang said when asked on Monday about the ban.