'Must never happen again': US takes on China over 'spy balloon' incident
2 min read . Updated: 19 Feb 2023, 01:56 PM IST
Premium- Notably, the US shot down the giant balloon, which China claimed to be a civilian airship used for research mainly meteorological, on February 4 after it hovered over the country for a week
In the first high-level contact between the US and China since the former shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon a few days ago, the top diplomats from both the countries met on Saturday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party’s most senior foreign policy official Wang Yi held hourlong talks in Munich, where they were attending an international security conference.
During the meeting, the two diplomats discussed various issues, including Chinese surveillance and the country's alliance with Moscow – topics that have brought diplomatic relations between Beijing and Washington to new lows, according to The Washington Post report.
Blinken has also sent the message that Beijing's surveillance program had been “exposed to the world."
Blinken has said to the Chinese official that his nation's “high-altitude surveillance balloon program — which has intruded into the airspace of over 40 countries across five continents — has been exposed to the world."
In an interview for CBS' “Face the Nation", the US Secretary of State said, “I made very clear to him that China sending its surveillance balloon over the United States in violation of our sovereignty, in violation of international law, was unacceptable and must never happen again."
Taking to Twitter, Blinken wrote, "Just met with the PRC's top diplomat, Wang Yi. I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stressed it must never happen again. I warned China against providing material support to Russia. I also emphasized the importance of keeping open lines of communication."
Blinken also told Wang that the US does not seek conflict with China, repeating a standard talking point that the Biden administration has provided since it has come into office.
“The United States will compete and will unapologetically stand up for our values and interests, but that we do not want conflict with the PRC and are not looking for a new Cold War," according to a statement.
Blinken "underscored the importance of maintaining diplomatic dialogue and open lines of communication at all times."
Earlier Saturday, Wang had renewed Beijing's criticism of the United States for shooting down the balloon, arguing that the move did not point to US strength.
Beijing insists the white orb shot down off the Carolina coast on 4 February was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and had only limited “self-steering" capabilities.
Blinken had been due to travel to Beijing earlier this month but abruptly called off the visit amid the balloon incursion.
Notably, the US shot down the giant balloon, which China claimed to be a civilian airship used for research mainly meteorological, on February 4 after it hovered over the country for a week.