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Tensions are on the rise after the U.S. shot down a Chinese balloon. China’s defense ministry now refused to take phone calls from Pentagon, saying it’s irresponsible for the U.S. military to use excessive military forces to attack a civilian airship. The U.S. accuses China of spying, and China accuses the U.S. of waging a public opinion war. Here is a timeline of how the dramatic dispute escalated over the past 10 days.
Wednesday, Feb. 1
China balloon was first spotted by the public over Montana when former Billings Gazette newspaper editor Chase Doak spotted the object above after seeing reports that the airspace around Billings was closed.
Flights at Billings Logan International Airport are halted for nearly two hours.
Thursday, Feb. 2
The Pentagon publicly discloses the high-altitude Chinese balloon has been flying over the mainland United States for several days.
U.S. lawmakers criticize President Biden for not shooting it down. A second Chinese balloon is reportedly spotted over Latin America.
Later on Thursday, Canada’s defense department said it was tracking “a potential second incident,” without elaborating. The White House declined to comment on the Canadian statement.
Friday, Feb. 3
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning says China has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign state.
Mao says, “China regrets that the airship strayed into the United States by mistake.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it a “clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law.” Blinken said he postponed his scheduled trip to China.
China said neither Beijing nor Washington had announced Blinken would visit China, saying it was all media reports based on undisclosed sources. But China said it respected the U.S. decision and called for the U.S. to handle the situation calmly.
U.S. politicians like House Speaker McCarthy urged President Biden not to “be silent” on China’s balloon. China said some U.S. politicians and media organizations are hyping the incident.
Saturday, Feb. 4
China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi had a phone conversation with Blinken, and said China is a responsible country and will handle the situation calmly with the U.S.
The U.S. shot down the balloon with an air-to-air missile fired by an F-22 fighter plane from Langley Air Force Base.
Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halts flights in and out of some airports in North Carolina and South Carolina, as the downing took place.
The U.S. military launches recovery efforts.
China’s foreign ministry reiterates the airship was conducting meteorological research and unintentionally entered into U.S. airspace due to “force majeure,” unforeseeable circumstances.
Sunday, Feb. 5
The U.S. military continues to collect remnants of the balloon in 15 meters of water (50 feet) scattered over an 11-kilometer area (seven miles) off the coast of South Carolina.
China condemned the U.S. for shooting down a civilian airship with military forces and requested the U.S. to return its debris to Beijing.
Chinese military said it’s an overreaction to shoot down a civilian airship with military forces and said it reserves the right to “handle a similar situation with necessary means” in the future.
Monday, Feb. 6
Washington accused China of using the balloon to spy on the U.S.
China’s foreign ministry reiterated that it’s for weather purposes and urged the U.S. to stop sensationalizing the issue.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the incident of the balloon’s unintended entry into U.S. airspace is a test of how sincere the U.S. is in improving ties and handling the crisis with Beijing.
Wednesday, Feb. 8
The U.S. said its defense chief wanted to speak on the phone with his Chinese counterpart but was refused.
Thursday, Feb. 9
China confirmed it had declined a proposal from the United States for a telephone call between their two top defense officials.
“The U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. proposal for a phone call between the two defense chiefs,” PLA Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, said.
When asked which company the balloon belonged to, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China has no information to offer.
She said Beijing had explained multiple times that the airship is for weather purposes and its entry into U.S. airspace was unintentional, but the U.S. insisted to overreact and used military forces excessively to attack a civilian airship.
“The U.S. side said this balloon is part of China’s spying system. Perhaps such rhetorics are part of U.S. public opinion warfare against China,” Mao said Thursday, saying the international community knows which country is the biggest spying power in the world.
“This type of rhetoric from the U.S. is extremely irresponsible and runs counter to basic diplomatic etiquette,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.
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