Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said Defense Minister Wei Fenghe was not ready for dialogue with the Pentagon leadership, as the US military recently shot down a Chinese civilian balloon that destroyed the “proper atmosphere” for dialogue. This has been reported area Chinese Ministry of Defense.
“The United States showed determination and China used weapons to shoot down the civilian drone. Because of this irresponsible serious mistake, the USA <…> “China does not accept the US offer to hold a phone call between the defense ministers of the two countries,” it said.
Tan Kefei noted that the US “serious violations of international rules by setting a bad precedent”. He also reminded the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement that Beijing “reserves the right to take necessary measures if a similar situation arises”.
Previously, the Financial Times, citing experts, stated that the incident with a Chinese balloon in US airspace lowered The possibility of a reset in relations between Washington and Beijing.
Prior to that, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin stated that a Chinese balloon had been shot down by the US military. used To monitor US strategic facilities.
China’s “spy bubble” was dropped on February 4. Prior to that, he spent several days in US airspace. In Beijing they said the balloon was civilian and accidentally crashed over the United States.