Beijing on Saturday declined a phone call proposed by the United States between Defense Secretary Lloyde Austin and his counterpart, Wei Fenghe, shortly after the US Air Force shot down the Chinese balloon, it was announced Tuesday.
“Our commitment to keeping communication channels open will continue,” however, US Department of Defense (Pentagon) spokesman Pat Ryder assured.
This rejection, revealed in a Pentagon statement, confirms the deterioration in relations between the two major world powers, AFP reports.
The US military shot down a Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina in the southeast of the country on Saturday, which the Pentagon considers to be an espionage device.
China said it was a civil-use balloon and accused the United States of “overreacting” by using force.
Saturday, shortly after the Defense Ministry took steps to bring down the Chinese Communist Party balloon [dos EUA] has requested a secure connection between Austin and China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe,” said Pat Ryder.
“Communication between our armies is particularly important in times like this. Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party has rejected our request.”he added.
The balloon’s discovery in US airspace sparked a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Beijing suspension of the trip that Blinken would make to the Asian country between Sunday and Monday.
After the downing of the Chinese aircraft on Saturday, the United States has already recovered the first wreckage, but Washington has stressed that it does not intend to return it to China.
Colombia also announced over the weekend that a balloon has flown over its territory, information confirmed by Beijing.
Source: DN
