China Refused DOD Call After Spy Balloon Was Shot Down

According to Pentagon reports the Chinese Defense Ministry rejected a secure phone call from the U.S. Secretary of Defense following the shooting down of a Chinese spy ball off South Carolina’s coast.

The U.S. finally downed the Chinese craft on Saturday, after it drifted across the North American continent for over a week, passing over several sensitive military installations – including a complex in Montana with 150 intercontinental ballistic missile silos. China claims that the object was a weather balloon that had errantly flown off course, and condemned the U.S.’s “indiscriminate use of force” It was eventually taken down. 

U.S. intelligence has, however, claimed that the balloon was a tool for espionage and carried thousands of pounds of sophisticated surveillance gear. U.S. officials also Say it It was equipped with small propellers as well as rotors. ‘blown off course’ The balloon was flown in U.S. airspace with the intention of reaching specific areas of interest. 

“On Saturday, 4 February, immediately after taking action to down the PRC balloon, the DOD submitted a request for a secure call between Secretary Austin and PRC Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe,” Brigadier General Pat Ryder . “Unfortunately, the PRC has declined our request. Our commitment to open lines of communication will continue.”

On January 28, the balloon passed over Alaska, north-east of the Aleutian Islands. Politico According to reports, the craft was initially not considered a threat even though North American Aerospace Command was following its movements closely. 

By January 30, it had traveled into Canadian airspace — only to move back into American airspace on January 31 when it passed into northern Idaho. The Defense Department notified President Biden of the incursion and US military personnel on the ground started to take steps to secure radio communications and sites. 

Biden requested that the balloon be taken down but was reportedly stopped by military advisors. The advisors supposedly believed that the risk of debris harming civilians or structures on the ground was too high — analysts reportedly estimated that the debris could scatter across a 7-mile radius. Biden’s administration was looking into options for shooting the balloon down over US territorial waters as of February 1, 2010.

Officials became more anxious as the balloon approached Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, one of only 3 locations that store and operate America’s nuclear ICBM systems. The craft was grounded from Billings, Montana and fighters were scrambled in anticipation of a potential order to shoot it down.

The order was never given and the balloon floated across the US, drawing heavy criticism from the Biden administration as legislators and civilian observers became aware of the situation. 

On February 3, Secretary Antony Blinken Be characterized The incursion is a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law,” And then Cancelled A planned state visit to China.

The F-22 fighter jet flew by near Myrtle Beach to shoot down the spy balloon.

The showdown over the spy balloon represents a major flare-up in an increasingly tense relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, which has been heating up steadily for years — growing tensions in the Taiwanese strait have sparked fears that China might attempt an aggressive take over of Taiwan, paralleling Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Recent reports It is evident that China has sent spy satellites over US territory before and that the U.S. did not shoot down the satellite as part of a wider global spying program.