China Does Not Accept Baseless Speculation, Hype, Wang Yi Says in Phone Talks with Blinken After Balloon Incident

By Global Times

Feb 04, 2023 09:54 AM

China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law. We do not accept any groundless speculation and hype, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China said in phone talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday after the US continued to hype an balloon incident.

A spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday a Chinese unmanned civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research purposes made an unintended entry of into the US airspace due to force majeure and rejected the spy claim made by the US.

During Wang and Blinken's phone conversation, they communicated on how to deal with the accidental incident in a calm and professional manner. Wang said in face of unexpected situations, both sides should maintain focus, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments, manage and control differences.

Prior to Wang and Blinken's talk, State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Blinken postponed his visit to China due to the balloon incident and Blinken would be prepared to visit Beijing "as soon as conditions allow."

Previous news on Blinken's visit to China on February 5 and 6 all came from the US. China has never confirmed the information.  

On Saturday, a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that maintaining contact and communication at all levels is an important common understanding reached by the Chinese and US presidents at their meeting in Bali. One of the tasks of the diplomatic teams on both sides is to properly manage bilateral relations, particularly to manage unexpected situations in a cool-headed and prudent manner. 

"In fact, neither side has ever announced that there would be a visit. It is a matter for the US to make its latest announcement, and we respect that," said the spokesperson. 

Regarding the unintended entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into US airspace due to force majeure, the Chinese side has verified the situation and communicated the facts to the US side. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course, the spokesperson said in the statement. 

"This is entirely an unexpected situation caused by force majeure and the facts are very clear. China always acts in strict accordance with international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," read the statement.

We have no intention to violate and has never violated the territory or airspace of any sovereign country. Some politicians and media in the US have hyped up the incident and used it to attack China. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to this kind of behavior, the spokesperson said. 

Global Times