Dem Sen. Murphy: Spy Balloon ‘May Not Have Been Intentional’ at First, ‘Judge China’ by ‘How They Move Forward’

On Thursday’s broadcast of “CNN This Morning,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said that China has already faced consequences for its spy balloon because Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the country was canceled and “there’s evidence to suggest that it may not have been intentional, at least initially,” and suggested, “let’s judge China by its actions as to how they move forward from this incident.”

Murphy stated, “I worry that there are some members of Congress who are rooting for a conflict and war with China. We’ve always had hawks and warmongers in Washington that think the United States is better off if we’re perpetually in conflict. Obviously, what happened is absolutely unacceptable and there were repercussions, the visit by Secretary of State Blinken was canceled. But I also want to make sure that we don’t sort of slip into conflict with China, a country with which we have $6 trillion worth of trade every year. So, we need to continue to pursue a policy in which we are competing with China as an adversary, but we aren’t making mistakes just because of something that shows up in the headlines. We have to have a thoughtful policy of managed competition with China. I think China is very embarrassed by this incident. I think there’s evidence to suggest that it may not have been intentional, at least initially, and let’s judge China by its actions as to how they move forward from this incident.”

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