China insists balloon for civilian use, accuses US of exaggerating dispute

The Biden administration offered details including that high-resolution imagery provided by U-2 spy planes flying past the balloon revealed an array of surveillance equipment

China accused the US of exaggerating the dispute over a balloon the Biden administration says was conducting surveillance, signaling the nations remain at odds over an issue that’s rekindled tensions.
 

“The unintended entry into US airspace of a civilian, unmanned Chinese airship, this is an isolated, unexpected incident,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

She called a House resolution condemning China for the incident “political manipulation and hype. We are firmly opposed to that.” In response to a query over whether the balloon’s maker had ties to the Chinese military, Mao