Photo:Xinhua

The Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed strong dissatisfaction and protested against the US' use of force to shoot down a Chinese civilian airship, urging the US to properly handle the incident.
 
The Chinese side has verified the situation and communicated with the US side multiple times, saying the airship unintendedly entered US airspace due to force majeure and the incident was totally an accident, according to the statement released  by the ministry on Sunday morning.
 
The US military fighter jets on Saturday shot down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean off the Eastern Seaboard of the US with approval of US President Joe Biden, CNN reported on Sunday.

"The spokesperson of US Defense Ministry has said that the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Despite this, the US has obviously overreacted by insisting the use of force and seriously violated international practice," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
 
The ministry said China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to take further necessary actions.
 
Rejecting the US' spy balloon accusation, the ministry clarified on Friday that the unmanned airship appearing in the US is a civilian airship from China that is used for meteorological research purposes and deviated far from its planned course.

Global Times