China says refused US call because atmosphere not ‘proper’

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Defense Ministry says it refused a call from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin after the shooting down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon because the U.S. had “not created the proper atmosphere” for dialogue and exchange. In a statement late Thursday, the ministry said the U.S. action had “seriously violated international norms and set a pernicious precedent.” China insists the flying object was a civilian weather balloon and has called U.S. claims that it was spying a form of “information warfare.” The statement also said China “reserves the right to use necessary means to deal with similar situations.” China says the balloon had been blown off course, but has not said who it belonged to or offered other details.