Official slams Chinese balloon in US airspace as ‘unacceptable’ but says top American diplomat still plans to visit China when conditions allow.
Washington, DC – Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a visit to China, the United States government has confirmed, calling the presence of an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon in American airspace as an “unacceptable” violation of its sovereignty.
A senior Department of State official said on Friday that “conditions are not right” for a visit that was to start on Sunday due to the “irresponsible” balloon flight.
China has apologised 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”. But the US administration said the aircraft was a “high-altitude surveillance balloon”.
“We have noted the PRC [People’s Republic of China] 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 it is unacceptable that this has occurred,” the State Department official told reporters on the condition of anonymity.
The official stressed that lines of communication remain open between Washington and Beijing as they seek to “responsibly manage” the intensifying competition between the two countries.
“Our clear assessment was that under these current conditions, it wouldn’t be constructive to visit Beijing at this time, but I’ll also reiterate that this is a postponement and the secretary [Blinken] plans to travel at the earliest appropriate opportunity when conditions allow,” the official said.
Ties between Beijing and Washington have soured over numerous points of tension in recent years, including trade issues, the status of Taiwan, claims to the South China Sea and an ongoing US push against growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.
The US has also been warning China against coming to Russia’s aid in Ukraine.
Both Chinese and US officials have stressed that they do not seek confrontation, warning against turning the competition into a new Cold War.
The balloon was first observed over the northern US state of Montana on Thursday.
“The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic, and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground,” Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said in a statement.
“Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years,” he said. “Once the balloon was detected, the US government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information.”
Canada, which borders Montana and has frosty relation with China, said it had summoned the Chinese ambassador on Thursday over the incident.
“We will continue to vigorously express our position to Chinese officials through multiple channels,” the Canadian foreign ministry told Al Jazeera in an email.
