Voices on U.S. hysteria over China's airship as ludicrous, unwarranted

BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. allegations regarding China's airship are ludicrous, unwarranted and dangerous, various voices have pointed out recently.

Washington has leveled "ludicrous allegations" of China's civilian unmanned airship violating "territorial integrity," Iranian daily newspaper Tehran Times has commented.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has told a daily news briefing on Wednesday that the entry of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace is an entirely unintended, unexpected and isolated event caused by force majeure.

Experts had said the same thing, namely that the hard-to-maneuver and high-altitude weather test balloon was blown by winds across North America, the Tehran Times reported.

U.S. accusations are "actually quite laughable" as balloons were used for surveillance purposes some 70 to 80 years ago, the report added.

The U.S. hysterical overreaction to the Chinese balloon incident shows the world that the U.S. administration lacks sufficient strength and capability to engage Beijing constructively, said retired U.S. career diplomat Chas Freeman in a recent interview with Russia's Sputnik news agency.

It has made it clear that the administration is "too weak to stand up to partisan criticism in a deeply polarized American society," said Freeman, who served as late U.S. President Richard Nixon's interpreter during his 1972 trip to China.

The Washington Post has said in an opinion piece that the frenzy over China's airship is dangerous and unwarranted.

The author (Max Boot, columnist) wrote that the use of the most advanced U.S. weapons systems, an F-22 Raptor, to shoot down the airship left him feeling unsettled and alarmed.

"What concerns me is the hysterical overreaction on the part of so many Americans to the balloon's progress," wrote the author, who argued that paranoia and alarmism about China's growing power are unwarranted.

A Bloomberg report revealed that Republicans in the United States are using the China airship drama to raise money for 2024.

Republican politicians are stoking outrage and raising cash over the alleged "spy balloon" that crossed the United States before it was shot down, the report said.

According to the report, congressional campaigns cited the incident in at least 11 emails as they ask recipients for money, to sign petitions or to take surveys.

Venezuelan condemned what it called an "attack by the United States against an unmanned civilian aircraft of Chinese origin," according to a Venezuela Foreign Ministry statement.

The United States once again "resort to the use of force" against a device that did not represent any military or physical threat to people on the ground, said the statement.