It was not what the Chinese government wanted to hear.
The Pentagon stated Tuesday that China rejected Washington’s request to have a secure call between Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin (USA) and his counterpart, Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe (China).
According to Pentagon press secretary Gen. Pat Ryder, the purpose of the call was to increase tensions and open up further avenues of dialogue following the spy balloon scandal.
He said, “In moments like these, it is especially important to have clear lines between our militaries.” “Unfortunately, our request was declined by the PRC. “Our commitment to open communication lines will continue.”
The U.S. used an F-22 Raptor aircraft to bring down the balloon using a Sidewinder missile. This was early Saturday afternoon. After the balloon plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, tensions did not abate.
China claimed that the balloon was a “civilian aircraftship” and was used for weather research. The Biden administration did not agree to release the balloon from the sky. Beijing stated it would continue to engage with U.S. officials regarding its appearance in American skies.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “strong dissatisfaction” and protest at the U.S. use of force after the balloon was deflated.
“The Chinese side had clearly asked the U.S. to manage the situation properly in calm, professional, and restrained fashion,” said the ministry. It called the administration’s decision “obvious overreaction” and a serious violation international customary practice.
The statement stated that “the Chinese side will resolutely protect the legitimate rights, interests of the companies involved, while reserving to make further necessary replies.”
A senior official in the administration responded to China’s statement shortly after it was published. He told NBC News that the balloon was being used to spy on the U.S., Canada and other countries “and we are confident it was trying to monitor sensitive military installations.”
On Jan. 28, the inflatable spy machine entered U.S. Airspace north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. It then entered Canada a few days later. The machine entered the U.S. again the next day, in northern Idaho. It then slowly made its way through the United States, passing close to numerous American nuclear sites.
Navy divers are currently working to retrieve pieces of the balloon and have them analyzed by the FBI Laboratory in Quantico.
Officials from the United States said it was unlikely that China discovered any information via its balloon’s surveillance, which they wouldn’t have known through satellites.
General Glen VanHerck, Commander of U.S. Northern Command, stated Monday that the U.S. had actually waited to destroy the balloon, because they were gathering intelligence about the inflatable’s capabilities.
He said that this gave them the chance to evaluate what they were doing, what type of capabilities existed on the balloon and what kind of transmission capabilities existed. “I think you’ll find in the future that it was well worth the effort to collect over.”
