BEIJING, Feb. 9 -- China has declined the US proposal for a telephone conversation between the defense chiefs of China and the US, said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, in a statement on Thursday.
According to the spokesperson, the US side recently proposed a telephone conversation between the Chinese defense minister and the US defense secretary to communicate on the incident of China's civilian unmanned airship.
The spokesperson said that the US persisted in using force to attack China's civilian unmanned airship, which seriously violated international practices and set a very bad precedent. In view of the US side's irresponsible and seriously wrong practice, which had failed to create a proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchange between the two militaries, China didn't accept the US proposal for a phone call between the two defense chiefs, added the spokesperson.
The spokesperson also noted that the Chinese Foreign Ministry had made a public statement on the nature of the unmanned airship incident, and China reserves the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations.