The Chinese defense minister refused a phone call with his U.S. counterpart over the balloon shooting, citing the lack of goodwill on the U.S. side. The U.S. military shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon that had flown over the United States for several days, prompting protests from Beijing. On the same day immediately after the strike, the Pentagon requested a phone call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe but China rejected the request. Nearly a week later, the Chinese defense ministry issued a statement explaining the reason. Senior Col. Tan Kefei, a ministry’s spokesperson, said the U.S. “persisted in using force to attack China’s civilian unmanned airship, which seriously violated international practices and set a very bad precedent.” China didn’t accept the proposal for a telephone conversation between the two defense chiefs because the U.S. “failed to create a