No U, alleges China, claiming that the U.S. has send 10 balloons of its own into their airspace in recent months. The U.S. denies it.
Beijing's accusations came after the US shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina this month and subsequently downed three other objects, most recently at the weekend. "It's very common that the US intrudes [into] others' airspace," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday. "Just last year, more than 10 American high-altitude balloons illegally flew through Chinese airspace without permission from the relevant Chinese authorities." Within hours the White House rejected the claims as "false", saying it had never operated "surveillance balloons" over China. "This is the latest example of China scrambling to do damage control," said Adrienne Watson, the US National Security Council spokesperson.
Meanwhile, water utilities in the Ohio watershed are getting antsy about that rail crash and it's receiving only cursory reportage.