After Pentagon outreach was rejected for days, the United States has now spoken with Beijing about the purported Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down on February 4, a defense official said Sunday.
According to Assistant Secretary of Defense Melissa Dalton, “contacts have been made with the PRC on the high altitude balloon.” She was referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Soon after an Air Force aircraft shot down the Chinese balloon off the US east coast after it had traveled the entire nation for days, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wanted to talk with Chinese colleagues.
The incident forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a long-planned diplomatic mission to Beijing, but he received no answer.
China announced on Thursday that it has declined the invitation to speak by phone with the US defense secretary because of Washington’s “irresponsible” choice to shoot the balloon down.
China’s defense ministry issued a statement saying, “This irresponsible and gravely flawed approach by the US did not establish an appropriate climate for communication and exchanges between the two forces.”
“The US insisted on using force to attack the airship, which seriously violated international practice and sets a bad precedent,” it added.
When asked about the communication or what was said, Dalton declined to elaborate. On Sunday, fighter jets shot down the fourth suspicious item discovered in US airspace in less than a week.
Despite the fact that US officials are positive the Chinese balloon entered US airspace to gather intelligence, they have not provided any further details about the next three items since they are smaller and do not closely resemble the Chinese balloon.
