WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indefinitely postponed what was to be an already tense trip to China on Friday, citing a Chinese reconnaissance balloon moving east across the United States that posed a threat to national security.
Blinken had been scheduled to depart for Beijing Friday night, on a trip that was intended to reinforce communication and cooperation between the two countries.
Instead, he told China’s director of Central Foreign Affairs Office, Wang Yi, in a phone call Friday that the balloon was an “irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip,” according to a readout of the discussion.
In the past year, Chinese President Xi Jinping has deepened tensions with the U.S. by forging closer alliances with Russian President Vladimir Putin and ratcheting up military aggression against Taiwan.
Blinken had planned meet with his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Qin Gang, and hoped to see Xi, as well.
China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the balloon was a civilian weather airship intended for scientific research that was blown off course. It described the incident as a result of a “force majeure” for which it was not responsible.
This claim was summarily dismissed by U.S. officials. A senior Pentagon official told reporters Thursday night that the object was clearly a surveillance balloon that was flying over sensitive sites to collect intelligence.
“We have noted the PRC statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law and is unacceptable that this has occurred,” the official said.
The balloon is moving east at an altitude above 60,000 feet so it is not a threat to civil aircraft, Pentagon officials said.
On Friday afternoon, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, reported that the balloon was flying over his home state.
Defense officials said the Pentagon considered shooting down the balloon earlier this week, but decided against it after briefing President Joe Biden. The decision was made in consultation with senior leaders, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Biden concluded that the U.S. would not shoot down the balloon because debris from it could cause damage on the ground, Pentagon official said. Moreover, any information the balloon collects would have “limited additive value” compared with China’s spy satellites.
“At this stage we are monitoring it and reviewing options,” Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters, adding officials expect the balloon will linger in U.S. airspace for a few days.
Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Washington.
Alex Brandon | AP
Beijing’s apparent provocation so close to Blinken’s visit set off alarms on Capitol Hill.
“It’s not coincidental that this is happening right before Blinken was supposed to visit Beijing,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“They do these sorts of things to humiliate the other side, project strength and send a message. I don’t think this was coincidental. I think it was certainly tied to that,” Rubio said Friday on radio talk show “The Mike Gallagher Show.”
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who represents the state where the balloon was flying overhead Thursday, said in a statement that he was in contact with Defense Department and intelligence officials over the matter. One of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base is located in the state.
But as of Friday morning, Tester said he was still “waiting for real answers on how this happened and what steps the administration took to protect our country, and I will hold everyone accountable until I get them.”
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The incident came at a moment of high tension between the United States and China. Beijing’s territorial expansion in the South China Sea and its aggressive effort to control Taiwan have long concerned U.S. officials, but recently their worries have grown more urgent.
On Thursday, Austin was in the Philippine capital of Manilla, where the two countries announced the Philippines would grant the United States expanded access to its military bases. The island nation is strategically located in the southeast corner of the South China Sea, approximately 750 miles from Taiwan.
Austin said expanding access for U.S. troops “was especially important as the People’s Republic of China continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the West Philippine Sea,” using the phrase designated by the Philippines to refer to parts of the South China Sea.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has requested a briefing for the so-called Gang of Eight, the Republican and Democratic leaders of both the House and Senate, and the leaders from both parties of the Senate and House Intelligence committees.
Source link: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/03/us-secretary-of-state-blinken-postpones-high-stakes-trip-to-china-after-us-discovers-suspected-spy-balloon-.html