利用高空气球等方式开展气象探测已成为世界各国探索地球环境的普遍方式，然而近期美国却利用失控的中国气象无人飞艇炮制出一连串“监控”闹剧。从国际法角度，该如何理解和评价这一事件？对此，CGTN采访了武汉大学国际法研究所苏金远教授。苏教授认为，结合《国际民用航空公约（芝加哥公约）》，根据“不得对民用航空器使用武力”的国际惯例或国际习惯法原则，在该民用无人飞艇并没有对美国造成现实紧迫危险的情况下，美国政府并未秉持善意态度通过和平方式解决争端，而采取了极端的武力方式，这是不合理的。
专家观点速读版
问题一：从国际法的角度，此次气球事件中，美国的反应是否过度？为什么？
1
美国的确对该事件反应过度。
2
该事件中，这艘中国无人飞艇属于民用性质，用于气象研究，因受强西风的影响，偏离了预定轨道。因此，这是一个由不可抗力导致的一个孤立的事件。
3
在中国明确提出可以和美国进行沟通协调的前提下，美国选择了击落飞艇的极端方式来解决，并对中国六家实体机构进行制裁，反映出美国从始至终没有想通过和平的方式来解决此事件。
问题二：目前，与领空安全相关的一个重要文件是1944年签署的《国际民用航空公约》。其中第三分条规定，禁止针对飞行中的民用航空器使用武器。美国此举是否违反了公约？
1
第三分条所反映的规则，很可能已经形成了习惯国际法。一旦形成了习惯国际法，一个国家有没有批准都对国家具有约束力，包括美国。
2
公约规定，当一国发现其领空内有未经允许和进入的外国航空器的时候，可采取一定的处置措施，如要求它在指定的机场降落。如果美国善意地去履行这一程序，本可以采取更加缓和的措施，用非武力方式解决。
3
美国最少涉嫌违反了芝加哥公约第三分条所反映的不对民用航空器使用武器的习惯国际法规则。
问题三：各国应该如何处置他国民用飞行器飞越该国上空的情况，以避免出现外交纠纷甚至冲突？
1
国家对它的领空的完全和排他性的主权，这是国际法一个基本的原则。一国的航空器无论军用还是民用，如果没有经过另外一个国家的允许是不能进入另一国家的领空的。
2
但在飞艇因不可抗力误入他国的领空的情况下，相关国家还是要进行通报、沟通、协调，双方应该秉承最大的善意去解决这个事件，而不是增加双方之间的误判，甚至局势的恶化。
A diplomatic dispute has arisen between China and the U.S. after a Chinese unmanned airship was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.
China has confirmed and repeatedly informed the U.S. of the civilian nature of its unmanned airship and explained that its unexpected entry into U.S. airspace was due to force majeure.
In response, U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the military to shoot it down.
Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said what the U.S. has done was apparently an abuse of the use of force.
During an unofficial engagement with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, he said the U.S. action violates the customary international practice and the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
"Every State must refrain from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight," as is stated in the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944, which is a core protocol governing airspace safety.
"It can be argued that the rule is now part of customary international law," said Su Jinyuan, a professor at the Wuhan University Institute of International Law.
"First, this is clear from the terms used in the provision. Second, it has been ratified by 158 States so far. Third, the U.S. has similar regulations in its domestic law."
So, regardless of whether a country has ratified the protocol, it has become a consensus under international law, Su said during an interview with CGTN.
"What concerns me is the hysterical overreaction on the part of so many Americans to the balloon's progress," he wrote.
"A healthy concern about China's growing power is warranted, but paranoia and alarmism are not."
Also, it is suspected that Republican politicians in the U.S. are using the China airship incident to raise money for the 2024 election, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The report notes that at least 11 congressional campaigns have referenced the incident in their email communications, urging recipients to contribute funds, sign petitions, or participate in surveys.
This has led to accusations that Republican politicians are deliberately stirring up anger and appealing for donations by highlighting the airship that entered U.S. airspace.
The U.S. move to shoot down the airship and salvage the debris for analysis was followed by U.S. sanctions on six Chinese entities connected to the suspected surveillance balloon program.
"The chosen course of action reflects that the U.S. never considered resolving the incident through peaceful means," said Su, adding that the U.S. followed its own judgment and acted in a unilateral way.
In this case, the U.S. could have taken more mitigating measures if it followed the regulations and was willing to settle the problem in good faith, he said.
"Unfortunately, it chose the most extreme methods."
The convention also outlines procedures for handling foreign aircraft that enters a country's national airspace without permission. In such cases, the overflown state has the authority to require the aircraft to land at a designated airport or provide it with other instructions.
Similar provisions can also be found in certain domestic U.S. regulations, including some military regulations, Su said.
China stated that the airship is used for meteorological purposes, while the U.S. claims it is used for espionage.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) emphasizes that weather balloons are a crucial component of the Global Observing System, which is essential for accurate weather forecasts and climate monitoring.
Every day, millions of observations are collected worldwide. These observations come from various sources, such as satellites, drifting buoys, ships, observing stations and nearly 1,000 weather balloons equipped with radiosondes, according to the WMO.
Although the U.S. Department of Defense had assessed that the balloon "did not pose a threat at any time to civilian air traffic" and "did not pose a military or kinetic threat to people or property on the ground," the balloon was eventually shot down by a single missile fired from an F-22 Raptor fighter jet.
The hysteria over China's airship is dangerous and unwarranted, wrote Max Boot, a historian and columnist covering national security in The Washington Post, noting 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.
