China’s high diplomat stated Saturday that the U.S. response to the invention of an alleged spy balloon was patently “absurd.”
Wang Yi, a high-ranking member of China’s Communist Get together, stated at Germany’s Munich Safety Convention that the downing of the aerial object on Feb. 4 was a blatant U.S. tactic “to divert consideration from its home issues.”
“We requested the US to deal with it calmly and professionally,” stated Wang, in line with an English translation of his remarks.
“Regrettably, the US … [disregarded] these info, and used superior fighter jets and downed a balloon with its missiles. That is, I might say, absurd and hysterical. That is … [an] abuse of the usage of pressure.”
He added: “It doesn’t present America is powerful. Quite the opposite, it reveals the alternative.”
The balloon drifted over a number of states and was recognized by the Pentagon as a Chinese language spying system earlier than President Joe Biden ordered it to be destroyed. Wang reiterated Beijing’s official stance that it was a civilian craft blown off track.
Johannes Simon by way of Getty Photos
The balloon would turn into the primary of 4 aerial objects downed by U.S. fighter jets in eight days. The three others have been shot out of the sky on Feb. 10, 11 and 12 after being noticed close to Alaska, Canada and Michigan. President Joe Biden stated Thursday that the extra objects doubtless weren’t surveillance autos.
The balloon’s discovery and downing have exacerbated tensions with Beijing. Secretary of State Antony Blinken notably canceled a deliberate Feb. 3 journey to China, and Beijing later accused the U.S. of violating its airspace, claiming that high-altitude balloons breached its territory greater than 10 instances since 2022. The White Home denied the allegation.
“Throughout the globe, there are a lot of balloons within the sky from completely different international locations,” stated Wang on the Munich convention. “Do you need to down each one in every of them?”
Elsewhere throughout the occasion, Wang would solely chuckle when requested by journalists if he had plans to satisfy with Blinken, in line with The New York Occasions.
ODD ANDERSEN by way of Getty Photos
The worldwide gathering this weekend has largely targeted on the Russia-Ukraine battle, which is able to mark its one-year anniversary Friday. Wang stated China was “deeply involved” by the disaster, including that it’s “on the facet of peace and dialogue.”
In line with the diplomat, Chinese language President Xi Jinping urged as early because the second day of the invasion that Russia and Ukraine “search political settlement of the disaster.” He acknowledged that this type of course of “was stopped,” nonetheless, by entities unnamed.
“We have no idea why the method was minimize quick. Some forces won’t need to see peace talks … materialize,” stated Wang. “They could have strategic targets bigger than Ukraine itself.”