This story was originally published by the WND News Center.

China, it appears, does not like it when someone else – the intended target perhaps – takes issue with the flight paths of its spy balloons.

A report from the Epoch Times has documented that the Chinese Communist Party has promised it will "resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests" in a controversy that saw the U.S. military shoot down one of its balloons that was floating just off America's eastern coast.

The CCP said America's military strike on the balloon was wrong because it was a "civilian" craft that China was using for meteorological purposes and that it was floating over the U.S. by accident.

"A Chinese spokesperson issued a veiled threat vowing that Beijing would 'resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests' over America's action," the report explained.

That particular balloon first was noticed over Montana on Feb. 1, where it "loitered" over sensitive areas where nuclear missiles are stored in silos, the report said.

There were immediate calls to shoot it down, and the military, several days later when the balloon was off the coast of South Carolina, did that.

U.S. officials said, in the Epoch Times report, that China's claims were wrong, that the balloon was, in fact, a "military" operation, and had a "device" attached that was the size of a small jet.

Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck said the U.S. military took the "maximum precaution" to prevent it from collecting intel for China.

Several balloons reportedly have been spotted in the skies over America lately, and others have been seen over Latin America.

The Epoch Times even noted the specific threat that could come from a Chinese balloon.

Officials said it "absolutely" suggests that China's communists were conducting a dry run for an attack using a balloon-mounted weapon.