China’s spy balloon floating about eleven miles over the continental U.S., and its destruction by the U.S. on Feb. 4 over territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina, caused each to accuse the other of violating international law (China used the phrase “international convention”).  So, what international law did China violate?

It isn’t the Outer Space Treaty which came into force on Oct. 10, 1967 and presently has 112 Parties including the U.S. and China – and Russia.  This is so because the Treaty prohibits specified military activities by Parties in outer space, the legal definition of which is unsettled, but technically can usefully be thought of as an altitude starting about 62 miles above sea level.

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