Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Photo: Reuters)

Speaking about China’s balloons flying over US airspace and three unidentified objects brought down while flying above the US, ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the balloon was a civilian airship that drifted astray by accident and he had no knowledge of the other flying objects. Wang added that the US’s firing of missiles to shoot down unidentified flying objects is an overreaction of excessive force.

White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said China violated the sovereignty of the US and 40 other countries on five continents. “Any claim that the US government operates surveillance balloons over the People's Republic of China is false," she said in a statement.