China Refused Special Hotline Call From U.S. SecDef Austin During Balloon Ordeal
“That's really dangerous,” Assistant Secretary for Defense Ely Ratner of the difficulty of military-to-military crisis communications with China
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“That's really dangerous,” Assistant Secretary for Defense Ely Ratner of the difficulty of military-to-military crisis communications with China
When a giant Chinese balloon made an uninvited visit to the United States, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin turned to a hotline system set up with Beijing to defuse the situation.
When a giant Chinese balloon made an uninvited visit to the United States, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin turned to a hotline system set up with Beijing to defuse the situation. Austin ran into one problem with U.S.-China crisis communications in his Feb. 4 call, however.
China's Defense Ministry says it refused the call from Austin after the balloon was shot down because the U.S. had "not created the proper atmosphere" for dialogue and exchange.
The alleged Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US was capable of collecting communications signals and was part of a broader People’s Liberation Army intelligence-gathering effort that spanned more than 40 countries, a State Department official said Thursday.