Conditions not right: China justifies US outreach snub

BEIJING: China on Friday dismissed as “political manipulation” a US resolution condemning Beijing over the shooting of a suspected Chinese spy balloon over American territory even as the Chinese government declined a talk between the defence chiefs of the two countries, saying the atmosphere was not right for dialogue.

The US House of Representatives resolution, passed unanimously on Thursday, condemned China for a “brazen violation” of US sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”

“China deplores it (the resolution) and firmly opposes it,” Mao Ning, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said at the daily briefing on Friday.

“The Chinese side has repeatedly shared information and stated its position on the unintended entry of the unmanned Chinese civilian airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The US Congress’s resolution is purely about scoring political points and dramatising the whole thing. China deplores it and firmly opposes it,” Mao added.

Tenuous bilateral ties between the two world powers have become further tense over the balloon incident with a senior US official saying Thursday that the Chinese manufacturer of the balloon has direct links with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

China has claimed that it was a civilian balloon, which was used for weather research.

As a direct result of the new tension, China also declined the US proposal for a telephone conversation between the defence chiefs of the two countries, a Chinese defence ministry statement issued late on Thursday night said.

According to spokesperson, Tan Kefei, the US side recently proposed a telephone conversation between the Chinese defence minister and the US defence secretary to communicate on the incident of China’s civilian unmanned airship.

Tan, according to the Chinese statement, said the US persisted in using force to attack China’s civilian unmanned airship, which seriously violated international practices and set a very bad precedent.

“In view of the US side’s irresponsible and seriously wrong practice, which had failed to create a proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchange between the two militaries, China didn’t accept the US proposal for a phone call between the two defence chiefs,” Tan added in the statement.

China “reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations,” Tan added.