HMM: China Isn’t Ready to Pick Up Phone After Balloon Incident.

As the debris was settling into the Atlantic and Navy divers were beginning the arduous task of trying to recover the balloon’s sensors and other surveillance equipment, the Pentagon reached out to China to clear the air.

“We believe in the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between the United States and the P.R.C. in order to responsibly manage the relationship,” Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in an emailed statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “Lines between our militaries are particularly important in moments like this.”

It was not to be. “Unfortunately,” General Ryder said, “the P.R.C. has declined our request” to arrange a call with Wei Fenghe, the Chinese defense minister.
General Ryder said the Pentagon would keep trying.

I’m not sure which is more embarrassing: That Biden waited until the balloon had passed completely over the US before giving the shutdown order, or that the Pentagon keeps calling back like a spurned high school girl.