U.S. officials address mounting tensions between U.S. and China during Munich Security Conference

U.S. officials addressed mounting tensions with China Sunday aft Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China's apical diplomat, Wang Yi, to sermon China's high-altitude surveillance balloon and the nation's stance connected sending "lethal aid" to Russia.

The U.S. subject shot down a high-altitude Chinese balloon connected Feb. 4, and Blinken told Yi that it was an "unacceptable usurpation of U.S. sovereignty and planetary law," a State Department spokesperson said successful a connection Saturday. Blinken besides warned of the "implications and consequences" if China provides worldly enactment to Russia, according to the statement.

The officials met connected the margins of the Munich Security Conference, wherever leaders from astir the satellite gathered to sermon geopolitical challenges.

Blinken said Sunday that "there's nary doubt" the high-altitude balloon was attempting to prosecute successful progressive surveillance.

"What is wide is that erstwhile the balloon was implicit the United States and flying fundamentally westbound to east, it attempted to surveil precise delicate subject sites. In immoderate cases, it loitered oregon returned to them arsenic it progressed east," helium told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Blinken said helium had a "very direct, precise clear" speech astir the balloon with Yi, but that helium did not person a nonstop apology. Blinken said helium thinks different countries "appreciate" the information that the United States has "exposed" China's balloon program.

"More than 40 countries person had these balloons spell implicit their territories," helium told ABC's "This Week." "There's a existent interest that I'm proceeding present from different countries."

Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, are besides astatine the Munich Security Conference, and they said that the Biden medication should beryllium much unfastened with the American nationalist astir what China's espionage plans were.

But contempt the balloon, Turner said helium thinks determination is an accidental for the 2 nations to instrumentality to mean dialogue.

"No 1 of people wants a Cold War," helium told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "What we privation is simply a China that is not going to beryllium an aggressor state."

Chinese aggression is besides a interest successful Russia's warfare against Ukraine. Blinken said the U.S. has accusation that suggests China is considering sending "lethal support" to Russia.

He told NBC determination are "various kinds" of lethal assistance that China is considering providing, including weapons. Blinken said China has already been aiding Russia successful much diplomatic ways, but that sending lethal assistance would beryllium a important escalation.

"It was important for maine to stock precise intelligibly with Wang Yi that this would beryllium a superior problem," Blinken told ABC.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., besides appeared astatine the Munich Security Conference, and helium told ABC that if China does supply Russia with lethal aid, the satellite needs to "come down hard" connected China.

Graham said aiding Russia materially would beryllium "the astir catastrophic thing" that could hap to U.S.-China relations.

"To the Chinese: If you leap connected the Putin bid now, you're dumber than dirt," helium said. "It would beryllium similar buying a summons connected the Titanic aft you saw the movie. Don't bash this."