United States: The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his visit to China, calling the Chinese decision to fly an apparent spy balloon over the country “unacceptable and irresponsible.”
The top American diplomat’s trip to Beijing was supposed to be the first high-level US-China meeting there in years.
Earlier, China expressed regret over the balloon, saying that it was a weather airship that had been blown astray into American airspace. Later, the Pentagon reported that a second Chinese spy balloon had been spotted over Latin America.
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. “We now believe it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder remarked. The press secretary did not provide further details about the balloon’s location.
Mr. Blinken described the Chinese balloon over the US as “a violation of our sovereignty.”
“This is an unacceptable as well as an irresponsible action. It’s even more irresponsible coming on the eve of a long-planned visit,” the Secretary of State added.
America’s top diplomat was set to visit Beijing from February 5 to 6 to hold talks on a wide range of issues, including security, Taiwan, and COVID-19. But recently, US defence officials announced they were tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the United States.
According to the Pentagon, the balloon was “travelling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and did not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”
China finally acknowledged that the balloon was its property, saying that it was a civilian airship used for meteorological research that deviated from its route because of bad weather.
A statement from China’s Foreign Ministry stated that it regretted the incident and would work with the US to resolve the issue.
However, the US State Department official noted that while the country acknowledged China’s claim about the balloon’s purpose, it stood by its assessment that it was being used for surveillance.
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