WASHINGTON: The Spokesperson of the U.S. Defense Department said in a press conference that Chines government had declined a request for a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The U.S. Defense department Spokesman Brigadier General Pete Ryder further said the U.S defense secretary had requested to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, after China shot down an alleged spy balloon on February 4.
He further said that “Unfortunately, China rejected our request, but we are determined to keep all channels open for communication,” he added.
Once the U.S government has shot down the suspected spy balloon, the General Glenn van Hark, head of the US Northern Command, said that a ship has been tasked to find out the debris of a Chinese balloon that has fallen into the Atlantic Ocean.
It is to be remembered that the Chines government has maintained that the said balloon is only used for weather monitoring purposes, which had no military purpose, but Washington declared it to be a very advanced spy plane.
