US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, revealed that his Chinese counterpart Wei Vingie refused to receive a call from him after the United States was dropped by the Chinese balloon, and that the communications between the two sides had been cut off two months ago.

Austen said, in an interview with CNN, that he had not spoken to Fenghi "two months ago," adding: "I think we will continue to emphasize how important this is, and we hope that the minister will set a date for this call, he knows where to find me."

The confirmation of the lack of direct contact between the leaders of the two largest army in the world comes, while the two countries continue to strengthen their forces in Asia. On Thursday, the CNN network quoted sources that "the United States is planning to increase the number of American forces that train the Taiwanese forces on the island, which enjoys autonomy in the coming months," and indicated that Austin refused to confirm this.

Austin told a network that Chinese President Xi Jinping was not aware of the balloon, but "will allow Chinese officials to talk about themselves."

Austin stressed that while he and Chinese Defense Secretary Wei Fenghi did not speak during that period, this does not mean that the United States does not have other open communication lines with different Chinese officials.

The American minister said: "You have just seen Foreign Minister Anthony Blinkin speaking to his Chinese counterpart in Munich." He explained: "Consequently, there are open diplomatic communication lines. But I think it is for the army, it is definitely important to maintain open lines."

In recent weeks, China has accused the United States of undermining peace and stability in the region after it strengthened its presence around Taiwan, by increasing the forces in the bases of Okinawa and the neighboring columns.

Tension was highly escalating at the beginning of February, when the suspected Chinese monitoring balloon began to penetrate tens of thousands of feet through the airspace of the United States.

US President Joe Biden ultimately ordered his overthrow off the coast of South Carolina, after officials decided that the threat that the balloon might pose if it was dropped on civilians and property on the ground, exceeding the risks of the intelligence information that he collected.

Chinese officials said the balloon was "civil" for research and weather purposes and has deviated from its path, but the United States confirmed that it had espionage capabilities.
Source: Agencies