Blinken’s trip has been postponed. Xi needed to avoid any possible crisis with the US right now: that’s why
And spy balloon discovered in the American sky above a missile base In the Montana (an innocent weather instrument, according to the Chinese justification) blew up Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing. The secretary of state was expected this weekend to renew the dialogue with Xi Jinping. After hours of tense consultations, while the Republicans of the Congress invoked thekicking down the ball, the State Department said that in the face of an unacceptable violation of US sovereignty, there are currently no conditions for Secretary Blinken’s trip to China. Blinken called Wang Yihead of foreign policy of the Communist Party to notify him of the suspension and intention to reschedule the mission. Then in the late evening of Friday the announcement of the Pentagon which further increased the tension: We have received reports that another Chinese spy balloon in transit over the skies of Latin America said the spokesman of the Pentagon, General Pat Ryder, at the Cnn.
A Beijing they had tried to stall. The first response from the Chinese foreign spokeswoman yesterday morning was an invitation to calm and caution without making sensationalism before having a clear understanding of the facts. Several hours later, the official version: The aerostatic aircraft I had civilian purposes, meteorological research; it deviated from its intended route due to force majeure, westerly winds which pushed it into American airspace. Beijing conclusion: We regret what happened and will continue to communicate with the American side to handle this unforeseen situation.
The feeling that Xi was very interested in Blinken’s mission. In recent days, rumors had filtered through that the secretary of state, as well as with his Chinese foreign colleague, would have had a face-to-face meeting with the communist president. A remarkable development since five years ago Mike Pompeo, the last secretary of state to arrive in Beijing, had been snubbed by Xi who had not received him. An editorial that came out Wednesday on People’s newspaper
signaled how China wants to find common ground in the interests of economic recovery global (translated: the American side is needed to revitalize Chinese growth and even a handshake with Blinken would have been encouraging).
While the Chinese diplomacy try to minimize, the Global Timesthe national communist newspaper of Beijing, condensed an ironic comment in a tweet: The ball, even if civil, is a big target like three buses. If he could enter the American sky without difficulty, prove that there air defense of the United States a purely decorative and unreliable system. The mini-editorial accompanied by a cartoon showing Uncle Sam inflating a balloon with the inscription Chinese threat.
Il spy balloon had been identified and followed already Wednesday from Pentagon. According to the records, before entering US airspace it had passed over the Canada. The alarm went off when she flew about 18,000 meters altitude on Montana, where in the Malstrom base are deployed about 150 Minuteman III missiles intercontinental nuclear warheads. Sensitive place for the national security, as the military says, the target of aggressive intelligence action by the Chinese side. There US Air Force took off two F-22 fighter ready to shoot down the intruder, but the political decision of the White House was not to open fire to avoid falling to the ground of wreckage (and perhaps a hostile act that would have opened a more bitter crisis with the Chinese).
Experts point out that these latest generation balloons can operate at very high altitudes: between 24,000 and 37,000 metres, well above the routes of civilian aircraft, which do not exceed 10 thousand. They can have gods advantages over satellites: they are less expensive and the miniaturization of electronic information-gathering equipment reduces the weight to carry, allowing for smaller and easier to throw balloons, he tells the Cnn Peter Layton, former Australian Air Force officer. In addition, the balloons can be maneuvered by the onboard computers, changing height and direction. In practice, a single balloon can do the work of several orbiting satellites.
February 4, 2023 (change February 4, 2023 | 02:26)
© Time.News