Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July to Question 192153 on China: Espionage, whether the use of spy balloons by China is a bilateral and international issue which is of importance to UK interests.

The Integrated Review Refresh (IRR) sets out a new framework for responding to both traditional and emerging threats such as high altitude surveillance balloons, which we will not tolerate in our airspace, as well as our wider approach to China. The UK will further strengthen our national security where actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose a threat to our people, prosperity and security. Internationally, we will align with allies and partners to strengthen collective security and where necessary, push back against behaviours that undermine international law. Bilaterally, where it is in the UK interest to do so we will engage constructively with China.