Beijing rejected a request for talks between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and the Chinese defense minister over the incident with the Chinese balloon, the press service of the US military department said on February 8.
“On Saturday, February 4, immediately after the balloon was shot down, the Pentagon submitted a request for a secure conversation between Austin and the Chinese defense minister…Unfortunately, the request was rejected by the PRC.”the Pentagon said, noting the importance of maintaining the possibility of dialogue between Washington and Beijing.
According to US authorities, Beijing launched a balloon to collect intelligence data.
Let’s remember that a balloon that was flying over Canada and the United States was shot down on February 4 off the coast of South Carolina. As a result, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken postponed his visit to China.
Beijing explained that the balloon is a weather balloon that strayed from the route, and the entire situation is due to force majeure.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.