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Biden’s secretary of state warns that China is considering giving Russia “lethal assistance” in its year-long war with Ukraine, and warns that Beijing tried to monitor major US military installations with spy balloons
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart in Germany
- He said there is serious concern that China is considering providing “lethal assistance” to Russia in its war with Ukraine.
- He also said the Chinese spy balloon flying over the US “was unacceptable and must never happen again.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is concerned that China is considering providing “lethal assistance” to Russia in its war with Ukraine.
Blinken said that in meetings with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Sunday, he “made it clear” that Beijing will face consequences if it continues to help Russia in its bid to seize Ukraine.
It comes as the threat from China to the US increases amid concerns about the spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic coast of South Carolina earlier this month.
“We are very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia in its aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning. He echoed these sentiments in interviews with CBS’s Face the Nation and ABC’s This Week.
Blinken said he “made it clear” to his Chinese counterpart during a meeting over the weekend that if Beijing provided this support to Russia “it would have serious consequences for our relationship.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is serious concern in the international community that China is considering providing “lethal assistance” to Russia in its war with Ukraine.
It comes as Biden prepares to visit Poland this week to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the start of the war between the two nations. Pictured: A Russian tank fires on a Ukrainian fortified position in an image released Thursday, February 16.
‘[This is] something that President Biden has shared directly with [Chinese] president xi [Jinping] on several occasions,’ Blinken added.
Biden is preparing to visit Poland this week to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started the war between the two Eastern European nations.
Blinken and Wang met during the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Sunday. The forum in Munich is intended for world leaders to come together to discuss international security policy. Vice President Kamala Harris will also attend.
Blinken met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (pictured) over the weekend at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, where the two discussed issues between Washington and Beijing, such as the recent increase in spy ship activity in other countries.
Blinken told Martha Raddatz in her ABC interview that other countries have expressed that they are very grateful that the United States has now “exposed” China’s hot air balloon operations.
“More than 40 countries have had these balloons fly over their territory,” Blinken said. ‘This goes back a few years, this program has been around for a few years. So there’s real concern that I’m hearing here from other countries, from allies and partners alike, about this program.’
China has characterized the US response to the spy balloon as a “Cold War mentality” of hysteria, which the Biden administration has denounced.
Blinken said he could not be sure whether China intended to send the spy balloon, which Beijing said was a stray weather balloon, over the United States.
“Once over the United States, the balloon attempted to monitor very critical and important military installations,” Blinken told ABC.
He assured: “We protected the sensitive information that he was trying to monitor.”
Blinken also said that during meetings in Munich with his Chinese counterpart, he “made it clear” that the spy balloon coming over the US “was unacceptable and must never happen again.”
Blinken said that during their meetings in Munich, “he made it very clear to him [Wang] That China sent a surveillance balloon over the United States, in violation of our sovereignty, in violation of international law, was unacceptable and must never happen again.’
“We also had the opportunity to talk about what is happening here in Munich, the central topic of conversation about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and concerns that China is considering providing lethal support for Russia in its efforts in Ukraine. “, said. aggregate.