WASHINGTON — The U.S. Friday, a huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon flew over the United States. The Pentagon accused China of spying, but China denied it. Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, abruptly canceled a high-stakes trip to Beijing that was meant to ease tensions between the United States and China.
People using binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the “spy balloon” in the sky as it flew east over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet. Fuzzy videos flooded social media sites.
Despite China’s claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had blown off course, Blinken was canceled. The Pentagon didn’t believe that at all, and neither did China, which said that the balloon, which was about the size of two school buses, wasn’t used for spying and couldn’t go very far.
The balloon was found over sensitive military sites in Montana. By noon, it had moved east over the center of the United States and was expected to stay there for several days, according to officials.
The news made things even worse between the US and China, which have been getting worse for years because of many things. Nonetheless, U.S. officials maintained that diplomatic channels were open and that Blinken was willing to visit China at “an appropriate time.”
Biden Delcined To Comment About The China Balloon
President Joe Biden declined to comment when asked about the matter at an economic event. Former President Donald Trump, who is running for reelection in 2024, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is running for reelection in 2024, said the U.S. should pop the balloon right away.
According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden was first briefed about the Chinese surveillance balloon on Tuesday. She should have explained why the administration waited until Thursday to express its concerns.
According to a senior defense official, the United States has prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered. The Pentagon eventually advised against it, noting that even though the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size could create a large debris field to endanger people.
On Friday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder refused to say whether there was any new consideration of shooting down the balloon.
Ryder stated it was about 60,000 feet in altitude, maneuverable, and had changed course. He stated that it was no longer a threat.
Blinkin Trip Cancelled
Regarding Blinken’s trip, Jean-Pierre stated that a diplomatic visit to China was unnecessary. “The presence of this balloon in our airspace… is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this happened,” she said.
According to a State Department official, Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman protested to the Chinese Embassy’s top official on Wednesday, the day before the Pentagon announced the balloon’s discovery.
According to Pentagon officials, it was spotted over Montana, home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Several Republican lawmakers have chastised the administration for not taking stronger action against China before this. And allowing Blinken to go ahead with his trip could have made Biden even more vulnerable to their complaints when he is dealing with the new Republican-led U.S. House.
According to weather experts, China’s claim that the balloon had gone off course was not implausible. China’s account of Westerlies carrying a balloon to the western United States was “absolutely possible – not possible, likely,” said Dan Jaffe, an atmospheric chemistry professor at the University of Washington.
Nonetheless, multiple U.S. officials called the presence of the balloon “unacceptable” and said Blinken delivered that message to Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi when he told them he was postponing his trip on Friday.
China Denounces Surveillance Attempts
According to State Department spokesman Ned Price, Blinken told Wang that the “U.S. is committed to diplomatic engagement and maintaining open lines of communication and that he would be prepared to visit Beijing as soon as conditions allow.”
Blinken’s long-awaited meetings with senior Chinese officials were seen as a possible way for both countries to find some areas of common ground amid major disagreements over Taiwan, human rights, China’s claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade policy, and climate change.
Even though Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to the trip at a meeting in Indonesia in November, it hasn’t been officially announced yet. However, officials in both Beijing and Washington have been talking about Blinken’s arrival on Sunday and Monday for meetings.
China, which angrily denounces surveillance attempts by the U.S. and others over areas it considers to be its territory and once shot down an American spy plane and imprisoned its crew on Hainan Island, was relatively conciliatory in response to U.S. complaints.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that came close to an apology that the balloon was a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research. According to the report, the airship had limited “self-steering” capabilities and had “deviated far from its planned course” due to winds.
“The statement said that the Chinese side regrets that the airship accidentally entered U.S. airspace due to “force majeure,” which is a legal term for things that are out of one’s control.”
SOURCE – (AP)
