delivery time2023-02-14 00:25
The official Ministry of Defense review begins… “China is becoming more authoritarian”
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(London = Yonhap News) Reporter Yoon-Jeong Choi = British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed that he is ready to shoot down Chinese reconnaissance balloons if they appear.
Prime Minister Sunak said in a meeting with reporters on the 13th (local time), “We have all the capabilities to respond to threats from airspace,” The Times reported.
He said, “We are in constant contact with our allies, including the United States, and we will do anything for the security of the country.”
Concerns have been raised that the Chinese reconnaissance balloon that appeared in the US may have already crossed over to the UK, and the British government has officially launched a review of related information.
“The UK and its allies will review what an incursion into our airspace means for our security,” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on the morning of the same day, Guardian and Sky reported News, reported.
The UK, along with the US and other partners, will analyze balloon-related information and assess risks to determine whether changes in airspace monitoring are needed.
Politicians are warning that the balloon could have already crossed over to Britain, and the Ministry of Defense has not ruled out the possibility.
Wallace once said that if he saw a Chinese balloon, he would shoot it down.
Asked in an interview with Sky News that day whether a Chinese reconnaissance balloon could have already flown to Britain, Deputy Secretary of State for Transport Richard Holden replied, “It could be.”
Holden also said, “There may be people from the Chinese government who are trying to be hostile,” referring to a similar example in Salisbury in 2018 when Russia tried to poison an expatriate double agent in the UK.
“We have to be realistic about the threat these countries pose,” he said. “They don’t care about protecting our democratic values or our human rights.”
“The United States will share our conclusions about the performance of the Chinese balloons with our ‘Five Eyes’ classified intelligence sharing alliance, and then we will conduct an internal review of the balloon’s ability to identify, track, sabotage and destroy,” he said. Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Keynes does,” he said.
The Telegraph reported that Prime Minister Sunak was under pressure to respond more forcefully to China.
At one time Britain dreamed of a strong relationship with China, but recently the relationship has suddenly diverged and is now being defined as a systemic challenge to British values and interests.
The British government ordered 5G network companies to withdraw Chinese Huawei technology two years ago, and last year banned Chinese CCTV equipment from being installed in sensitive areas out of national security concerns.
Under Prime Minister Liz Truss, he tried to define China as a security threat, but Prime Minister Sunak did not raise the bar and spoke about the need for cooperation in relation to the world economy and climate change.
A spokesman for the prime minister’s office said that day that China was becoming increasingly authoritarian, but did not use Holden’s term as a “hostile state.”
merciel@yna.co.kr
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