This week was marked by a crossover of accusations between Washington and Beijing, after the spokesman for the US Department of Defense, Patrick Ryder, declare on Thursday that a Chinese “surveillance” hot air balloon, flying at high altitude, had been detected on US soil.
How is?
“The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude much higher than that of commercial air traffic and does not pose a military or physical threat to people on the groundRyder detailed.
Although Ryder did not provide details on the size of the device, another US official detailed that the substructure under the apparatus is about 90 feet (27 meters), which is roughly the length of three busesbut the balloon is much bigger and taller.
Shortly after, the spokesman told reporters that the Department of Defense is certain that the flying object belongs to Beijing.
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INCREDIBLE High-Resolution photo of the Chinese spy balloon!#ChineseSpyBalloon #China #USES
? TSchlitt-Photography pic.twitter.com/oYqNEstvCC— READY ALERTS (@ReadyAlerts) February 4, 2023
Where is it located?
an American officer accurate to CNN that while the balloon’s current flight path passes through “a number of sensitive locations,” does not represent a significant risk for the collection of intelligence information.
Meanwhile, a Pentagon source told NBC News that the stratospheric device flew from the aleutian islandsin the Bering Sea, and came through Canada to the US state of Mountainwhich houses one of three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Base.
Then, the balloon continued its journey through the North American country and headed towards Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouriaccording to him senator Eric Schmitt. From the Department of Defense too confirmed that the object hovered over the central United States in an easterly direction and added that the balloon is likely to continue hovering over the country for the next few days.
However, CNN reports with reference to a meteorological model from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the balloon could leave the east coast of the country as soon as Saturday morning.
In parallel, a second China’s alleged spy balloon was detected on Friday night flying over Latin America, reported CNN, citing Pentagon sources. “We are seeing reports of a balloon flying over Latin America. We now assess that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Ryder said.
Why didn’t they shoot it down?
Pentagon leadership reviewed the threats posed by the aircraft, but decided not knock it down kinetically at risks of security associated with possible falling debris, a source told NBC News.
On the other hand, he indicated that the US had this Wednesday “a window” to shoot down the balloon. In fact, the North American Aerospace Defense Command even sent F-22 Raptor fighters and an airborne early warning and control aircraft.
“Why not shoot it down? […] The first question is whether it poses a threat, a physical kinetic threat to people in the US or to national security. Our assessment is no,” the Pentagon spokesman explained.
Ok, so here’s what I just caught I a few minutes ago out my window. I saw a jet go by so fast and then explosion in the sky. Holy crap! Billings MT. pic.twitter.com/swr8ERC6pf
— Dolly Moore (@MMtTreasures) February 4, 2023
“The risk of taking it down, even if the probability was low in a sparsely populated area of debris falling and injuring someone or damaging property, it was not worth it and […] we could not reduce the risk enough to feel comfortable recommending taking it down yesterday,” he said.
The decision not to shoot down the aircraft sparked a series of critics against the Administration, accompanied by the demand to act immediately. Thus, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, dismissed the appearance of the balloon as “blatant contempt” to US sovereignty and “destabilizing act that must be addressed”. Meanwhile, the former president donald trumpurged the Government to shoot down the aircraft.
At the same time, videos of an alleged explosion over the state of Montana, where the balloon was located, were posted on social networks. “I saw a jet go by very fast and then an explosion in the sky,” wrote a netizen.
However, the Pentagon denied the rumors and pointed out that the balloon has not exploded.
“Attack and discredit China”
For its part, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reported that the balloon took off from the Asian country and is of a civil nature. “It’s about a civilian airship used for research purposes, mainly meteorological, ”a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry clarified this Friday. In addition, he explained that the aircraft “had he deviated a lot from his route due to the strong winds and their limited ability to self-steer.
From Beijing too denounced that some US officials and media took advantage of the situation to denigrate the Asian country. “Some American politicians and media have exaggerated it to attack and discredit China. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to this,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
The agency stressed that it is a situation of “force majeure”, while “China always acts in strict accordance with international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”
“Unacceptable” violation
However, the US Department of Defense rejected China’s claims that the balloon is civilian in nature and said the device is for espionage purposes. “We know it’s about a surveillance balloon“It is a” maneuverable device and it has changed course”, Ryder asserted.
In addition, he stressed that Washington had protested to Beijing over the “unacceptable” violation of your space air and international laws.
Likewise, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, declared that he postponed a trip to China after the incident. The head of US diplomacy said to the head of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wang Yi, that the balloon flight over the United States is an “irresponsible” act that violates the country’s sovereignty and international law, while “undermining” the intention of the visit.
The US Foreign Ministry stressed that the White House remains “committed” to diplomatic dialogue and that Blinken would be willing to visit Beijing “As soon as conditions allow”.
Result of a failed experiment?
It is still not clear why Beijing could have sent its two devices to the mainland: one to the United States and another, according to accurate Politician, to Costa Rica. In addition, it is well known that China has satellites capable of performing surveillance tasks with greater reliability. It is assumed, although without credible evidence, that other similar balloons were launched in different parts of the world, but only these two have been detected so far.
Andrew Antonio, co-founder of high-altitude balloon startup Urban Sky, he pointed to Reuters that the wind currents on which the balloons depend to orient themselves in long-distance trips they are less favorable in wintersuggesting that China’s intentions may not have been to target any specific location in the US.
According to the expert, “targeting this balloon specifically at a certain military base since it was launched in China, in January or February, in the northern hemisphere, is very difficult to do, if not impossible“. He added that the appearance of the device over the US could have been the result of a failed experiment, or some failure in its self-termination system.
For his part, Dan Jaffe, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Washington, explained to AP that the idea that the winds carried the balloon into US territory is plausible and “totally consistent.” “Transit time from China to the US would be About a week“he added.
In turn, Dean Cheng, senior adviser to the China program at the US Institute of Peace, said the balloon appeared deliberately provocative. “It is a form of test how the other party respondsnot in a military sense,” he stressed.
In parallel, the general secretary of the Spanish Atlantic Association, Juan Antonio del Castillo, assured to Antena 3 News that the balloon is not dangerous. “The maneuverability of a balloon with these characteristics is very limited, and all you can do is go up and down filling and emptying gas to catch favorable winds”, he argued.
Josh Lipsky, director of the Atlantic Council’s Center for Geoeconomics, he claimed It’s clear to CNN that the US wanted to let China know it knows about the balloon before Blinken lands in China. “This puts Chinese officials in a difficult situation for the meetings,” he said.
