Confirming that he is postponing his trip this weekend to China amid surveillance balloon row, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the presence of this surveillance balloon over the US skies is an ‘infringement of sovereignty’ and clearly unacceptable.
Blinken said the balloon incident was “detrimental” to discussions the US was looking for during his visit. The secretary, however, said the US and China will continue to keep lines of communication open, including addressing the balloon row.
The US on Friday said a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was spotted in the skies over its airspace, triggering security and diplomatic concerns to its already strained relationship with China.
A senior defense official said that the US has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.
Addressing a news conference in Washington, Blinken said, “I spoke this morning with director of China’s foreign affairs office Wang Yi to convey that in light of China’s unacceptable action, I am postponing my plan of travel this weekend to China as you know President Biden and Xi agreed during their meetings in Bali in November that I would travel to Beijing.”
While responding to a query regarding the surveillance balloon, Blinken said, “It’s very important to emphasize that the presence of this surveillance balloon over the US in our skies is a clear violation of international law and clearly unacceptable. And we’ve made it clear to China. And what this has done s created the conditions that undermine the purpose of the trip including ongoing efforts to build a floor under the relationship and to address a broad range of issues that are of concern for both the countries and the world.”
“So we took the step that I announced earlier today in postponing the planned visit for this weekend meanwhile, we are going to remain engaged with the PRC as this ongoing issue is resolved,” he added.
