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Japan, S. Korea Back U.S. Position over Balloon Issue

Reuters file photo
The Japanese flag (L) and South Korean flag (R)

Jiji Press

16:51 JST, February 14, 2023

WASHINGTON (Jiji Press) — Senior diplomats from Japan and South Korea on Monday expressed support for the United States’ position over suspected Chinese spy balloons violating U.S. airspace, including one recently shot down by the U.S. military.

At a meeting in Washington on the day, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman provided information on such balloons to Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong.

“We will remain aligned with” Japan, South Korea and other allies and partners worldwide to “push back” on Chinese behavior that “challenges the rules-based regional and international order,” Sherman told a press conference after the trilateral meeting.

Sherman flatly denied Beijing’s claim that the United States is also flying spy balloons in Chinese airspace.