US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he expects to speak with China’s President Xi Jinping about what the US claims was a Chinese spy balloon shot down by a US fighter jet earlier this month as it transited the US.
“We are not seeking a new cold war,” said Biden.
In his most extensive remarks about the Chinese balloon and three unidentified objects downed by US fighters, Biden did not say when he would speak with Xi, but he did say the US would continue to engage China diplomatically on the issue.
“I expect to be speaking with President Xi. I hope we are going to get to the bottom of this, but I make no apologies for taking down that balloon,” Biden said in response to complaints from Beijing.
“I think the last thing Xi wants is to fundamentally rip the relationship with the United States and with me,” Biden said.
China claims the shot-down 200-foot (60-meter) balloon was for weather monitoring, but Washington claims it was clearly a surveillance balloon with a massive undercarriage containing electronics.
On the other hand, Downing Street said that the UK was “well prepared” to deal with security threats to British airspace, with threats judged on a “case-by-case” basis.
“People should have confidence that we have all the capabilities necessary to keep the country safe,” Mr Sunak said on Monday.
“We have something called the quick reaction alert force, which consists of Typhoon planes that are kept on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week to police our airspace, which is extremely important.”
Transport Minister Richard Holden previously stated that Chinese spy balloons could have already flown over the UK.