Blinken Postpones China Trip As Balloon Over US Fuels Tensions

2/6/23, 9:59 AM Blinken postpones China trip as balloon over US fuels tensions | Politics News | Al Jazeera
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Blinken postpones China trip as balloon over US fuels

tensions
Chinese ‘surveillance’ balloon in US airspace is an ‘unacceptable’ violation of
sovereignty, Washington says.
China says balloon over US airspace is civilian airship
3 Feb 2023
Washington, DC – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a

visit to China, calling the presence of an alleged Chinese spy balloon in United
States airspace an “unacceptable” violation of the country’s sovereignty.
The balloon incident “undermined” the purpose of the trip, which was set to
start on Sunday, Blinken told reporters on Friday afternoon.
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“It’s very important to emphasise that the presence of this surveillance balloon
over the United States, in our skies, is a clear violation of our sovereignty, a clear
violation of international law and clearly unacceptable,” he said.
China has expressed regret for the balloon entering US airspace, describing it as
a civilian airship used for meteorological research that “deviated far from its
planned course” because of its “limited self-steering capability”.
US officials say it is a “high-altitude surveillance balloon”.
China’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying the flight of a

Chinese “airship” over the US was a force majeure accident and accused US
politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit Beijing.
“China has always strictly abided by international law and respected the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,” the ministry said in a
statement.
The ministry also said Beijing and Washington had not announced any visit by
Blinken and that “the US announcements are their own matter and we respect
that”.
The Chinese statement was issued as the Pentagon said another Chinese balloon
had been seen over Latin America, without giving an exact location.
“We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is
another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier
General Patrick Ryder said.
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Lines of communication
A US State Department official stressed earlier on Friday that while Blinken’s
trip was postponed, lines of communication remained open between
Washington and Beijing as they seek to “responsibly manage” intensifying com-
petition between the two countries.
-50% -55%
“Our clear assessment was that under these current conditions, it wouldn’t be
constructive to visit Beijing at this time, but I’ll also reiterate that this is a post-
ponement and the secretary [Blinken] plans to travel at the earliest appropriate
opportunity when conditions allow,” the official told reporters on condition of
anonymity.
Blinken later said Washington was engaged with Beijing to resolve the “ongoing”
issue.
“The first step is getting the surveillance asset out of our space. And that’s what
we’re focused on,” he said.
China’s foreign ministry said in a separate statement that Wang Yi, director of
China’s Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, had spoken to Blinken over the
phone on Friday evening and discussed how to deal with accidental incidents in
a calm and professional manner.
Wang told Blinken that both parties needed to communicate in a timely manner
and avoid any misjudgments, the ministry said.
-50%
The State Department also said Blinken held a phone call with Wang Yi to ad-
dress the situation. “The secretary explained that in light of this ongoing issue, it
would not be appropriate to visit Beijing at this time,” the department said in a
statement.
‘Chinese surveillance balloon’ filmed floating over US…

US…
Strained ties
Ties between Beijing and Washington have soured over numerous points of ten-
sion in recent years, including trade issues, the status of Taiwan, China’s claims
in the South China Sea and an ongoing US push against growing Chinese influ-
ence in the Indo-Pacific.
The US has also been warning China against coming to Russia’s aid in Ukraine.
Blinken’s now-postponed trip was aimed at mitigating some of those tensions. It

would have been the first visit by a US secretary of state to China since 2018,
when then-top diplomat Mike Pompeo travelled to Beijing and met his counter-
part, but not President Xi Jinping.
US President Joe Biden met Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali,
Indonesia, in late 2022.
Both Chinese and US officials have stressed they do not seek confrontation,
warning against turning the competition into a new Cold War.
-50%
Reporting from the White House, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said the balloon
controversy would have overshadowed Blinken’s trip to China. “There are al-
ready a lot of big issues to be discussed between these two nations … This would
be overarching over all of them,” she said.
The balloon was first observed over the northern US state of Montana on
Thursday. But the Pentagon said on Friday that it is now “over the centre of the
continental United States” without specifying over which state exactly.
“We currently assess that the balloon does not present a military or physical
threat to people on the ground at this time, and we’ll continue to monitor and
review options,” the Pentagon’s Patrick Ryder told reporters.
He added that the balloon was flying well above civilian air traffic.
Ryder also dismissed the Chinese explanation that the balloon was a civilian air-
craft for research. “The fact is, we know that it’s a surveillance balloon,” he said.
Is it too late for the US to contain China? | The Botto…

Botto…
US politicians react
US Senator Roger Marshall, who represents Kansas, said on Friday that the bal-
loon was over the northeastern part of the state.
-45%
“I condemn any attempts the Chinese make to spy on Americans. President

Biden must protect the sovereignty of the US whether it’s our airspace or the
southern border,” Marshall wrote on Twitter.
Several Republican members of the US Congress demanded answers and action

from the Biden administration over the incident.
Republican Senator Josh Hawley called for a congressional hearing on the bal-
loon, describing it as a “major domestic security threat”.
Congressman Scott Fitzgerald welcomed Blinken’s decision to postpone his trip

but said “the administration must do much more to tell China that espionage
will not be tolerated against the United States”.
Other legislators called on the Pentagon to bring down the balloon.
-50%
-42%
“Why won’t Biden shoot down the Chinese spy balloon that is currently flying
over the United States? The Chinese Communist Party is a threat to our exis-
tence,” Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn wrote on Twitter.
Josh Hawley
@HawleyMO · Follow
The Homeland Security Committee needs to have

public hearings NOW on the Chinese spy balloon -
how did Biden let this happen? Major domestic
security threat
10:16 PM · Feb 3, 2023
23.9K Reply Share
Read 3.8K replies
US defence officials have said that debris from the aircraft could pose a threat to
civilians on the ground if they were to shoot it down.
Democratic Senator Jon Tester, who represents Montana, called the balloon a
“completely unacceptable” provocation.
“We are still waiting for real answers on how this happened and what steps the
Administration took to protect our country, and I will hold everyone account-
able until I get them,” Tester said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Canada, which borders Montana and has frosty relations with
China, said it summoned the Chinese ambassador on Thursday over the
incident.
“We will continue to vigorously express our position to Chinese officials through
multiple channels,” the Canadian foreign ministry told Al Jazeera in an email.
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly said she discussed the secu-
rity of the country’s airspace with Blinken on Friday.
“We are collaborating with our American partners and continue to take all nec-
essary measures to safeguard Canada’s sensitive information,” Joly said in a
tweet.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA, REUTERS
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2/6/23, 9:59 AM Blinken postpones China trip as balloon over US fuels tensions | Politics News | Al Jazeera

Blinken postpones China trip as balloon over US fuels

China says balloon over US airspace is civilian airship

Washington, DC – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a

Apple, Google profits squeezed on China, sluggish economies

‘Very high’ odds of war with China, US Republican warns

US officials say it is a “high-altitude surveillance balloon”.

China’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying the flight of a

Sign up for Al Jazeera

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy

‘Chinese surveillance balloon’ filmed floating over US…

Blinken’s now-postponed trip was aimed at mitigating some of those tensions. It

Is it too late for the US to contain China? | The Botto…

“I condemn any attempts the Chinese make to spy on Americans. President

Several Republican members of the US Congress demanded answers and action

Congressman Scott Fitzgerald welcomed Blinken’s decision to postpone his trip

Other legislators called on the Pentagon to bring down the balloon.

The Homeland Security Committee needs to have

23.9K Reply Share

Read 3.8K replies

able until I get them,” Tester said in a statement.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA, REUTERS

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