On day ‘spy balloon’ was shot down, China refused call with Pentagon chief, US says
- The US defence department requested a call between Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe immediately after taking down the surveillance device
- The two previously met in Cambodia in a bid to ease tensions between Beijing and Washington
Beijing rejected a request for a secure call between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and his counterpart on the day an American warplane shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon, a US Department of Defence spokesman said Tuesday.
“On Saturday, 4 February, immediately after taking action to down the PRC balloon, the DOD submitted a request for a secure call between Secretary Austin and PRC Minister of National Defence Wei Fenghe,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“Unfortunately, the PRC has declined our request. Our commitment to open lines of communication will continue,” Ryder added.
China says the balloon was an errant weather observation aircraft with no military purpose, but Washington has described it as a sophisticated high-altitude spying vehicle.
After slowly traversing the middle of the United States, reportedly over several top secret military sites, the balloon headed out over the east coast, where a fighter plane shot down it down on Saturday.
Austin and Wei met in Cambodia last November as Washington and Beijing sought to lower the temperature after a visit by then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi that enraged China.
