Beijing denies allegations
Second balloon sighted over Latin America
2/4/2023 5:22 am
A suspected Chinese spy balloon in US airspace is causing irritation. US Secretary of State Blinken does not fly to Beijing as planned, the local leadership claims that the balloon went off course due to “force majeure”. Meanwhile, a second flying object appears over Latin America.
A suspected Chinese espionage balloon sighted over the United States has put a damper on efforts to improve relations between the two major powers. An imminent trip by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the People’s Republic has been postponed. The Beijing Foreign Ministry said it was a civil research balloon for meteorological purposes, among other things. China regrets that he drifted into US airspace. One does not accept “baseless speculation and propaganda”.
According to the US Department of Defense, however, the balloon recently changed course, which raised doubts about the Chinese account. The US military said the balloon was manoeuvrable.
Blinken was scheduled to leave on Friday for the trip to China agreed between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November. US Presidential spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said there was a consensus in the Washington government that travel was not appropriate at this time. The last visit by a US Secretary of State to China was in 2017.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said another Chinese balloon was spotted over Latin America, but didn’t say where exactly. “We’re seeing reports of a balloon crossing Latin America. We’re guessing it’s another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.
Trump demands shooting
Ex-President Donald Trump, who wants to get back into the race for the White House in 2024, called for the balloon to be launched on his social media platform Truth Social. According to government circles, the US military had actually considered this. Ultimately, however, Biden decided differently to avoid danger from falling debris.
According to the US Department of Defense, the balloon changed course on Friday and was now moving eastwards at an altitude of around 18 kilometers. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder declined to comment at a press conference on exactly how the balloon would be controlled and who might be in control in China. Reports that the balloon has been sighted have recently come from the states of Kansas and Missouri. The US military assumed that the missile would hover over the United States for a few more days.
Ryder declined to comment on the government’s future plans. There was speculation as to whether Biden could still order the balloon to be shot down or brought under American control. The Beijing leadership tried to calm the situation. “China has no intention of violating the territory or airspace of any sovereign state,” a government spokesman said. The People’s Republic continues its talks with the United States to deal with the “unexpected situation”.
Damper for diplomacy
US Presidential spokeswoman Jean-Pierre said the Chinese side’s regret was noted. But the presence of the balloon is a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law and is unacceptable. Tensions erupted between the two countries last summer following a visit to Taiwan by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Since then, the world’s two largest economies have been striving for better communication. However, as recently as Thursday, the head of the US CIA, William Burns, warned against underestimating President Xi’s Taiwan ambitions.
In the West, there are fears that China could take military action against the democratically governed Taiwan, similar to what Russia did with Ukraine. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province. The actual danger emanating from the balloon with regard to secret service knowledge is apparently assessed as low in the USA. The missile is of limited value in this regard, a US government official said. The China expert at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, told Reuters the type of balloon was used frequently by the Soviet Union and the US during the Cold War. It is a comparatively inexpensive form of espionage.