The United States is seeking to avoid a Cold War with Beijing following a violation of American sovereignty by a Chinese spy balloon, according to a senior government official.
The balloon that was shot down by U.S. forces on Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina was only one example of an increasingly hostile regime, according to Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
“[China’s] high-altitude surveillance program violated not only U.S. sovereignty but, over the years, that of many other countries as well,” Sherman said during a Feb. 15 talk at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.
“The PRC’s irresponsible acts put on full display what we’ve long understood: That the PRC has become more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad,” Sherman added, using an acronym for the official name of communist China, the People’s Republic of China….