China declined US request for call between Defence chiefs

After shooting down Chinese spy balloon, the US tried to call China's defence chief Wei Fenghe.

Washington, Feb 08: After the United States downed the Chinese spy balloon, Beijing refused the Washington's request for a secure call between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and his counterpart Wei Fenghe.

"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," AFP quoted Brigadier General Pat Ryder as saying in a statement.

The United States on Saturday shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic Ocean as it crossed the continental America after hovering over its skies from Montana to South Carolina. However, according to Beijing, the balloon was an errant weather observation aircraft with no military purpose while the US called it as a sophisticated high-altitude spying vehicle.

"We believe in the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and the P.R.C. in order to responsibly manage the relationship," The New York Times quoted General Patrick Ryder as saying in an emailed statement.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke about the "serious challenges" his country faces "across the world" while warning China that Washington "will act to protect sovereignty if threatened".

"If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. Let's be clear, winning the competition with China should unite all of us. We face serious challenges across the world. In the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker," he said his first major speech to a divided Congress after Republicans took control of the House of Representatives.

Biden claimed that after he took over the charge of office, the story was about how China was increasing its power and America was falling in the world. "Not anymore. I've made clear with President Xi that we seek competition, not conflict," Biden said.

The latest balloon incident has led US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his rare trip to Beijing. It also added fuel to the growing tensions between the two global superpowers.