Tensions between Washington and Beijing soared sky-high this past week after the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon. The surveillance airship entered U.S. airspace by the Aleutian Islands in Alaska on Jan. 28. After a brief flight through Canada, the balloon traveled across most of the continental states before being shot down off the South Carolina coast.
President Biden authorized the F-22 strike on Wednesday, Feb. 1, which was delayed several days to ensure no civilian casualties or infrastructure damage as a result of falling debris. Initial assessments from U.S. defense officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, concluded the balloon was used by the PRC to survey ‘strategic military’ locations. Such sites include Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana which is home to three nuclear missile silos.
Both military and political officials agreed the incident was a blatant violation of US sovereignty. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned state visit to Beijing on Friday in response, calling the situation “an irresponsible act” during a phone call with senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi. The trip, agreed to by President Biden and Chinese President Xi in November, was meant to ease US-China tensions, particularly in the areas of trade, the South China Sea, climate change and Taiwan.
China has publicly claimed the high-altitude balloon was a civilian airship with limited steering capacities meant for meteorological data collection. The Chinese Foreign Ministry blamed weather-related events for moving the balloon ‘off-course’ and invoked ‘force majeure’ to clarify the incident was out of their control.
This latest incident marks the fifth time in five years that Chinese surveillance balloons have infringed on US airspace. According to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby and the US Defense Department, three balloons flew over parts of the U.S. during the Trump administration and one was spotted during the early days of the Biden administration.
Kirby clarified, however, these prior incidents were not to the duration nor blatant ambition as this past week’s. Defense officials, assisted by the FBI, are now working to recover debris from the balloon to analyze its technical components and surveillance capabilities.
While U.S. officials largely agree the incident presents a broader national security concern, Biden has faced significant criticism from Republican representatives that his decision to shoot down the balloon was too little too late. In response to such arguments, however, spokesman Kirby argued the US intelligence community and military officials are now able to collect vital intelligence on the nature of PRC surveillance collection capacities as a result of strike timing.
