Chinese Spy Balloon Sends Tensions Soaring

By Ana Gaztañaga

Early in February, a Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the country, sparking a flurry of worry on Capitol Hill and prompting the postponement of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to China amid already strained relations between the two countries China has claimed that the device was a weather balloon that deviated from its intended path due to westerly winds, limiting China's capacity to control it The Chinese administration also acknowledged that the highaltitude balloon (which, according to US authorities, was floating at an altitude of around 66,000 feet) did, in fact, belong to Beijing, but that it was a civilian device used for scientific study such as meteorology. Notwithstanding China's justification, the arrival of the balloon into US airspace was viewed as a potential threat, with the Defense Department “certain” that it was, in fact, a Chinese surveillance balloon.

The Balloon

Although there has been considerable discussion wordddd regarding the attempt to capture the balloon, a US official has stated that this is not viable. Because it is equipped with solar panels, the balloon will not run out of fuel According to the official, the balloon steers by rudder and is corkscrewing around to slow its journey over land, but the jet stream continues to propel it over the United States The balloon’s cargo- that is, the section beneath the balloon that handles the monitoring- is the size of two to three school buses, and the balloon itself is significantly larger, according to a U S official. The Pentagon was debating methods to "dispose" of the balloon, but it was concerned about the damage it may wreak if it fell to Earth

Balloon Timeline

On January 28th, the balloon was discovered in US airspace high over Alaska, north of the Aleutian Islands The North American Aerospace Defense Command extensively monitored the balloon and determined that it posed no threat or intelligence concern at the time According to a senior word military officer, the balloon then entered Canadian territory over the Northwest Territories on January 30th, and after heading south, it re-entered US airspace over northern Idaho on January 31st On February 1st, the balloon was sighted hovering over Reed Point, Montana, and would eventually drift southeast into South Dakota and Nebraska A Chinese balloon has never flown above the country's center before The only other occasion a Chinese balloon flew over the mainland United States was during a brief journey over Florida. As a result, this aircraft sparked widespread concern and curiosity among civilians, with some whipping out their phones in an attempt to catch a video while others were left wondering whether the balloon had flown past them yet On February 3rd, the balloon moved south eastward across the continental U S, crossing Kansas, Missouri, and eventually made its way into the skies of North Carolina According to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the wordd balloon was eventually downed in US airspace above US territorial seas by fighter aircraft assigned to US Northern Command on February 4th

According to a senior US defense official, the balloon was hit by an F-22 firing a missile around six nautical miles off the coast of South Carolina. Footage was captured of the balloon being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast word of South Carolina, officially ending its voyage across the Western Hemisphere

Effects on U.S.-Chinese Relations

The balloon incident has heightened tensions between the United States and China at a time when the relationship is already at its lowest point in decades. Although top US officials have stated that they word aim to maintain open lines of communication with China, the competing narratives around the balloon are fueling further conflict In addition, the Biden administration has launched a campaign to inform countries throughout the world about the scope of China's spy balloon program and its violations of sovereignty, anticipating that other countries will respond to Chinese espionage activities.