US Secretary of State, Blinken Postpones China Visit Ahead Of Chinese Balloon Found Over US

Taking notes from the Chinese spy balloon in the United States, the US Secretary of State, Anton Blinken has postponed a visit to China.

The development has angered the United States and in protest has cancelled the Beijing trip of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was scheduled to leave for China on Friday night. This would have been the first visit of a top American diplomat to China in several years.

Phone call to a Chinese official

In a phone call with a Chinese official, Wang Yi, Blinken said that it was “irresponsible” of Beijing to send surveillance balloons over US soil as he explained why he postponed a visit.

Bliken noted China’s “statement of regret but conveyed that this is an irresponsible act and a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip,” a State Department statement said.

The US Secretary of State, Blinken told the reporters, the balloon incident “undermined” the purpose of the trip, which was set to start on Sunday.

He said, “It’s very important to emphasize 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.”

Also Read: United States: Chinese Spy Balloon Spotted Surveilling Nuclear Weapons Sites

China Regrets

After the Chinese balloon entered the US airspace, China 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”.

According to US officials, the Chinese spy balloon is a “high-altitude surveillance balloon”.

On Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said that the flight of a Chinese airship over the US was a force inevitable accident. The ministry has accused US politicians and media of taking advantage of the situation to discredit Beijing.

Further, the Chinese foreign ministry said, “China has always strictly abided by international law and respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”

Pentagon Press Secretary on Chinese spy Balloon

President Joe Biden has been briefed about the violation of US airspace by China and he is closely monitoring the developing situation, the White House said adding that as of now they have decided against destroying it because of the safety of the public, but all actions are on the table.

“We will continue to monitor it. Right now, we assess that it’ll probably be over the United States for a few days, but we’ll continue to review our options and keep you updated as we can,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at the Department of Defence.

“It’s got a large payload underneath the surveillance component, underneath the actual balloon piece of it,” Ryder said, adding that the surveillance balloon has manoeuvrability capabilities. Right now at this point, it’s moving eastward across the United States, currently over about the central United States, he said.