US Def Sec: Not Aware Of Additional Objects In US Airspace

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking at the NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels, has told reporters that he is not aware of any additional objects operating in US airspace in the past 48 hours.

• Austin's comments comes as temperatures lower in Washington after an week of ultra-hawkish rhetoric from US lawmakers.
• US officials have conceded that the three most recent downed objects may have been “benign” objects unconnected with China or surveillance and the Washington Post has reported that the original "spy balloon" may have been blown off an intended course over Guam, rather than intentionally penetrated continental US airspace.
• The diplomatic spat with China likely to persist with Beijing submitting counteraccusations of US espionage over "Xinjiang, Tibet and other provinces."
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken may hold a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on the margins of the Munich Security Conference this week but the State Department refused to confirm a timeline for re-establishing face-to-face diplomacy: "We’re going to continue to listen to what the PRC says… and make our own determination about when the time is right...”