Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut claimed Thursday that some in Congress were “rooting for a conflict” with China when asked about Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s call for sanctions over a Chinese spy balloon’s passage over the United States.
“I worry there are some members of Congress who are rooting for a conflict and war with China,” Murphy told “CNN This Morning” co-host Poppy Harlow, who earlier mentioned Hawley’s call for a “forceful response” to the recent deployment of a spy balloon that flew through American airspace for multiple days. “We have always had hawks and war mongers in Washington that think the United States is better off if we are perpetually in conflict.” (RELATED: Montanans Asked If They Could ‘Take A Shot’ At Chinese Spy Balloon, Steve Daines Says)
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A F-22 Raptor shot down the spy balloon Feb. 4, after it flew across the United States and passed near sensitive military bases, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The former base houses intercontinental ballistic missiles, while the Air Force operates B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from the latter.
“Obviously, what happened is absolutely unacceptable and there were repercussions. The visit by secretary of state Antony Blinken was canceled,” Murphy said. “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.”
China claimed the balloon was a civilian meteorological research platform that went off-course. U.S. officials said the balloon carried equipment that could allow it to monitor communications. The Air Force also shot down three other unknown aerial objects, one over northern Alaska Friday, one over Canada Saturday and one over Lake Huron Sunday.
“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,” Murphy added. “I think China is very embarrassed by this incident. I think there is evidence to suggest that this 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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