Kamala Harris said the Chinese spying balloon “needed to be shot down” because of the threat it posed to US security. The Vice President said Washington is now “confident” the ballon collected data during its long journey over the United States’s northern states. She said that while the US will continue to pursue dialogue with Beijing, China has not helped itself with its balloon surveillance programme.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News, Harris said: “Let’s be clear, as it relates to the Chinese balloon – we shot it down because it needed to be shot down.
“We were confident it was used by China to spy on the American people.”
She added: “We will maintain the perspective that we have in terms of what the relationship should be with respect to China and the United States.
“That is not going to change but surely, and certainly, that balloon was not helpful which is why we shot it down.”
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Harris, who is currently in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, had previously said she did not think the spying balloon would affect the relationship between Beijing and Washington.
She continued: “And I actually spoke directly with President Xi about this in Bangkok after the president spoke directly with President Xi about that in Bali several weeks ago…which is that we invite competition with China. But we do not look for conflict and confrontation.
“Which is why our policy has been clear, that we will invest in the American people. We will invest in our own infrastructure.
“We will align with our allies around the world, and that’s gonna be part of the discussions I have with world leaders while I’m here in Munich. And we will compete. And that has not changed.”
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The Vice President Chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell she expects more dialogue with China, hinting at an upcoming call between Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
She also insisted there “has to be communication” when asked about Beijing’s failure to resume military-to-military communications with the United States after months of radio silence.
Harris added: “There is always a way to improve relationships when we have direct lines of communication.
“That is why the president, our President Joe Biden, spoke directly with President Xi on many occasions, and most recently in Bali.
“It is why I spoke directly with President Xi when I was in Bangkok just several weeks ago. It is a priority of ours to ensure that we keep open lines of communication and that we make America’s position clear.
“And again, we made America’s position clear about that balloon when we shot it down.”
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