In the tense conversation, Blinken said that the US would not “tolerate any interference in their independence”, according to Reuters. He said that the “irresponsible action”, i.e. the launch of the balloon that was shot out of the air over South Carolina last month, must never happen again. In response, Wang called the episode a “political farce invented by the United States”, and blamed the country for “making use of all methods to block and suppress China”. The conversation is the first that has taken place directly between the country’s top leaders since the balloon shooting, according to the AP news agency. The relationship between Blinken and Wang is strained as a result of the shooting down of a Chinese balloon over the United States this month. Photo: STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP China warned on Sunday that the US will “take all the consequences” if they escalate the situation any further, reports Reuters. In an interview with NBC News, which aired on Sunday morning, Blinken said that Wang in no way apologized for the balloon. He added that the US did not overreact when they shot it out of the air, and has no doubt that it was trying to engage in active espionage. Addressed the USA’s debts in the speech Wang spoke yesterday at the security conference on behalf of the Chinese delegation. Wang Yi during the speech to the assembly on Saturday. Photo: WOLFGANG RATTAY / Reuters There he called the USA’s balloon reaction an “absurd and hysterical” abuse of power. – It does not show that the USA is strong. On the contrary, it shows that they are weak, he said. – There are many balloons in the air. Do you want to trap each and every one of them? China still denies having engaged in espionage, and insists that the balloon was a civilian, non-military instrument that went astray. The USA is still coming up with new information about the equipment they have managed to fish out of the water. These, they say, support the debts. The security conference is in its third day on Sunday. Photo: ODD ANDERSEN / AFP Unrest over Chinese support for Russia Further in the interview with NBC News, Blinken said that the US is concerned that China may contribute material support to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He warned Wang directly at the conference that there would be consequences if they were to offer something like this to Russia. In his speech, however, Wang said that China was “deeply concerned” that the war in Ukraine has gone on for so long. China has in several ways strengthened Russia’s economy during the war, including through energy imports and exports of goods restricted by the sanctions. The picture shows Chinese Coca-Cola bottles in a Russian convenience store. Photo: TATIANA MEEL / Reuters He claimed that China is about to publish a statement about its position related to the war which will emphasize the principle of territorial integrity and independence. – We do not sit on the sidelines paralyzed by action. We don’t throw fuel on the fire. We stand on the side of peace and dialogue. China has so far refused to impose sanctions on Russia, and is about to become one of the country’s biggest electricity and energy customers, according to The Guardian. Hobby group: – Could have been our balloon A group of balloon enthusiasts in the USA fears that it could have been one of the balloons the US military shot down over Alaska last week. This is reported by the newspaper Aviation Week. This does not apply to the Chinese balloon, but one of several objects that have been dropped over the USA and Canada recently. The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade says they lost contact with one of their so-called pico balloons over Alaska on February 11. Through a small GPS transmitter, they could follow the journey to the balloon, and the temperature where it was. Ed Harrison from another hobby group in Tennessee, shows off a pico-balloon they believe may be the object that was dropped by military aircraft over the Yukon in Canada. Photo: Tom Medlin / AP This information stopped coming in at about the same time that an American F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified object in the vicinity. The object the military depicted must have been of around the same size. If it is the same balloon, then the US military used a Sidewinder rocket worth just over NOK 4.5 million to shoot down a balloon that cost just over NOK 120, the newspaper states. On Saturday night, the New York Times reported that the United States has given up the search for the unidentified flying object they shot down over Alaska, and another one in Michigan. Thus, it is possible that they will never be found and analyzed.
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Balloon dispute flares up between the USA and China – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
