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Alleged spy balloon from China over Japan (photo from June 17, 2020)
Photo: Kyodo / IMAGO
Japan accuses China of violating its airspace with spy balloons.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, unidentified flying objects have crossed Japanese airspace in the past three years: in November 2019, June 2020 and September 2021.
The investigations came to the conclusion that it was "highly likely to be unmanned reconnaissance balloons," the ministry said.
The Tokyo government has now called on the Chinese government to "confirm the facts" and ensure that such incidents "do not happen again in the future".
Violations of Japanese airspace by foreign spy balloons are "completely unacceptable."
China was accused of espionage a few weeks ago when an unidentified flying object appeared off the US coast in North Carolina.
The Washington government launched the balloon on February 4th.
China was outraged by the allegations.
Beijing is outraged by Japanese espionage allegations
The reaction is now repeated.
"Japan is making baseless allegations and slandering China without conclusive evidence," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in Beijing.
"We're resolutely opposed to that."
According to media reports, the Tokyo government is considering relaxing regulations on shooting down unidentified flying objects that enter Japanese airspace without permission.
Currently, weapons may only be used in such cases if there is an immediate threat, as reported by the Kyodo news agency.
ssi/AFP
