Balloon saga has had ‘great impact’ on US-China relations, analyst says
- Pentagon says Chinese craft didn’t collect information as it flew over United States
- But tension between the two powers ‘has not been removed’, according to observer
The suspected surveillance balloon had crossed the continental United States from Alaska to the east coast before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean in February.
“We believe that it did not collect while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters on Thursday, adding that the US “took steps to mitigate” the potential collection efforts of the craft.
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China says US balloons flew over Xinjiang, Tibet as diplomatic row deepens
But the remarks are not expected to do much to improve the relationship between the two powers, according to Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
“Although the Pentagon’s claims may be contrary to what they used to be, the actual impact will be almost zero,” he said. “The tension between China and the US has not been removed.”
Shi said “the most important fact” was that the US military had shot down the Chinese balloon which it believed was being used to gather intelligence, and that the incident “has had a great impact on US-China relations”.
Asked about Ryder’s remarks on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing had made clear that the civilian unmanned airship had flown into US airspace in an “isolated and unexpected” incident caused by force majeure. She said the claim that it was a spy balloon was an attempt to smear and attack China.