US Secretary of State Blinken slams China over surveillance balloon

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called China's actions with regard to the spy balloon discovered over the United States "irresponsible" and "unacceptable".

He said the presence of the aircraft in US airspace was a clear violation of US sovereignty and a clear violation of international law, in comments to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a phone call, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

He said the world expects the US and China to manage their relationship responsibly. The US does so and expects the same from China, Blinken said.

"The United States will continue to maintain open lines of communication with China including to address this ongoing incident," he said.

Washington's top priority is to remove the balloon from its airspace, Blinken said, without adding how this should be done.

Blinken, whose visit to China was called off at short notice due to the incursion, said he wanted to visit Beijing as soon as conditions allowed.

However, China's behaviour in the run-up to the visit was "detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have", he said.

-- BERNAMA