Kamala insists saga won’t damage relations with communist Beijing
- Diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing are at a boiling point
- Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin claims the U.S. has ‘overreacted’
- Follows report the Biden administration tracked the spy balloon for a week
China warned it would take countermeasures against U.S. entities in response to American fighter jets shooting down its surveillance balloon amid tense diplomatic relations.
Beijing‘s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also claimed the U.S. has flown high-altitude balloons flew over its Xinjiang and Tibet regions after the White House rejected claims it was behind any flights.
Wang didn’t reveal any details and did not identify the targets of the measures, but claims the U.S. overreacted by scrambling F-22s to down the spy balloon and used it as a pretext to sanction Chinese-linked companies.
Despite the friction, Vice President Kamala Harris said she did not think the spy balloon saga would damage relations with Beijing.
It follows a report that the Biden administration was tracking the balloon for a week from the moment it took off from Hainan Island.
Harris told Politico: ‘I don’t think so, no’ when asked if she thinks the shooting down of the spy balloon would impact the relationship between the two superpowers.
‘We seek competition, but not conflict or confrontation,’ she said in line with the White House stance on China.
Harris’ comments sparked a direct statement from Republican Senator Rick Scott, saying she has shown ‘nothing but total incompetence when it comes to threats facing America.
‘Now, after watching Communist China fly a spy balloon over the entire United States, she thinks that we should just carry on like nothing happened?’ Scott added.
‘Her failure to understand and act on the threats facing our nation isn’t just embarrassing, it’s dangerous. Communist China is our enemy and wants to destroy our way of life.
‘If Kamala Harris doesn’t understand that, she should resign. The American people cannot afford weakness from unserious politicians in the White House.’
