On Tuesday, February 8, the DOD submitted a request for a safe call between Secretary Austin and the PRC Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe, a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement, referring to the People's Republic of China.
The PRC has declined our request. Ryder said that our commitment to open lines of communication will continue.
China says the balloon was an errant weather observation aircraft with no military purpose, but Washington has described it as a sophisticated high-altitude spying vehicle.
After slowly passing over several top secret military sites, the balloon went out over the east coast, where a fighter plane shot down it on Saturday.