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Blinken tells senior Chinese diplomat that `spy balloon’ violated US sovereignty

The presence of a balloon in US airspace is also a violation of international law, Blinken said

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

© Sergei Karpukhin/TASS

WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with Director of China’s CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi on the phone on Friday the incident with a high-altitude Chinese balloon over the United States.

"I spoke this morning with <…> Wang Yi, to convey that, in light of China's unacceptable action, I am postponing my plan to travel this weekend to China," Blinken said at a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin at the US Department of State.

"And <…> I made clear that the presence of this surveillance balloon in US airspace is a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law. That it's an irresponsible act, and that the PRC’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have," Blinken insisted.

Last November in Bali, US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed for the US Secretary of State to visit Beijing to follow up on the agenda the two heads of state had discussed at the meeting.

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China Antony Blinken

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