Days after US warplanes shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleged that Beijing had “violated the sovereignty” of not only the US but countries across five continents.
Addressing a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Blinken said the United States was not the only target of this extensive program that has violated the sovereignty of countries on five continents.
US urges China to manage activities responsibly
“In our engagements, we are again hearing from our partners that the world expects China and the United States to responsibly manage our relationship. That is exactly what we stand ready to do. We expect China to do the same. urge,” he said. Added.
NATO chief expressed concern over Chinese military capabilities
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg said the balloon over US airspace confirms a pattern of Chinese behavior, and noted that Beijing has invested heavily in new military capabilities over the past few years, including surveillance and intelligence gathering. Various platforms are included for
“We’ve also seen an increase in Chinese intelligence activities in Europe – again, different platforms. They use satellites, cyber, and as we’ve seen in the United States, even balloons,” he said.
Asserting that security is not regional but global, the NATO chief said, “Therefore, we have to be vigilant. We need to be aware of the continuing threat posed by Chinese intelligence and then what steps we can take to protect ourselves.” “
US shoots down Chinese balloon
Earlier this week, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman briefed diplomats of about 40 friendly countries, including India, Japan and Australia, about the surveillance balloons. The balloon was shot down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. It hovered over the continental US for several days after entering US airspace over Montana on 30 January.
China has acknowledged that the balloon was theirs but denied that it was for surveillance purposes rather than weather monitoring and that it had lost its way. However, the US has claimed that it has enough evidence to prove that it was a surveillance balloon. It accused China of encroaching on its sovereignty and violating international laws.
(with inputs from AP)