Tensions Grow Between U.S. And China as Balloon Details Unfold

Updated February 16, 2023

• Senior officials believe the Chinese spy balloon was originally planned to conduct surveillance over U.S. military bases in Guam and Hawaii, but winds took it off course. As more details come to light, leaders are increasingly concerned about the worsening relationship between the U.S. and China. 
• Officials note the two nations' inability to discern and trust each other's intentions and fear it will lead to more conflict. 

Updated February 6, 2023

• On Saturday, a U.S. Air Force fighter shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The action, ordered by President Joe Biden, took place off the coast of South Carolina to ensure no citizens would be hit with debris. Federal officials stated that the U.S. is taking action to protect the sensitive information the balloon could have collected. On Sunday, a top defense official said:

"We have learned technical things about this balloon and its surveillance capabilities. And I suspect if we are successful in recovering aspects of the debris, we will learn even more."

• Recent reports have revealed that during former President Donald Trump's time in office, at least three similar aircraft were spotted over the U.S. — which the administration did not make public knowledge.
• Trump denied the claims that "spy" balloons entered U.S. territory during his time as president. The Biden administration is willing to brief former Trump officials on these incidents. 
• There were reportedly balloon sightings in Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and Guam. 
• China's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of "overreacting" and "seriously violating international practice." The nation said it reserved the right to handle its "civilian unmanned airship" and will do so during similar situations in the future.

What’s the story?

• The U.S. is monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon hovering over the northwest, said the Pentagon on Thursday. 
• The discovery comes a few days before Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was set to visit Beijing — a trip that has since been postponed.  
• According to a senior defense official, President Biden decided not to give the command to shoot down the balloon over concern that debris would rain down. 
• The balloon traveled from China, to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, through northwest Canada, and into Montana, where it was spotted on Wednesday. 

Are officials concerned? 

• While this is not the first time the U.S. has detected a Chinese surveillance balloon, this one has remained over the country for longer than before. Still, a senior administration official said the balloon does not pose a military or physical threat. 
• Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters that the balloon was well above commercial air traffic and that all U.S. sensitive information is protected.
• Another defense official said the Pentagon believes any intelligence China could collect from the ballon through satellite imagery is of little value. 
• Canada’s Department of National Defense said the balloon’s movements were being “actively tracked” by the U.S.-Canada military partnership, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The department added that both countries are working to “take all necessary measures to safeguard [any] sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats.”
• Concern has grown as Montana holds the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, one of three American Air Force bases that hold intercontinental ballistic missiles. Both countries have spied on each other in the past, and the balloon is expected to raise already high tensions between the U.S. and China from intensifying confrontations in Taiwan and Ukraine. 

China’s response

• On Friday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the balloon was an innocent mistake. A ministry spokesperson said in a statement: 

“The airship is from China. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure.”

Are you concerned about the balloon?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: Flickr/Michael DeBock)