Did China send a strong message to Canada and the US?
The Chinese balloon over Canada and the US raises more question minute by minute. Was it a Chinese test of how US and Canada will react, or was it a test at all? While Canada hasn’t done much to bring the object down, many criticize Biden administration for lack of fast response.
Eventually, the balloon was shot down over the ocean so nobody can get hot on the ground doe to falling objects and that is probably a great idea and great decision by the US Government. Still, many experts and regular citizens have their doubt this intern national incident was handled appropriately.
A suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down by American fighter jets on Saturday as it hovered off the coast of South Carolina. Beijing blasted the action as a “severe violation of international practise” and promised consequences.
U.S. President Joe Biden remarked, “We successfully took it down, and I want to commend our aviators who accomplished it.”
Although the Pentagon advised deflating the balloon over open water to protect civilians from debris falling to Earth from thousands of metres above commercial air traffic, Biden claimed that he had given the order to do so on Wednesday. According to a senior U.S. military official, there were several fighter and refuelling aircraft involved in the mission, but only one—an F-22 fighter jet—took the shot using a single AIM-9X missile.
The ship was shot down over relatively shallow water approximately six nautical miles off the coast of the United States, which could help efforts to find important pieces of Chinese surveillance equipment among the debris in the coming days, according to officials. According to a U.S. official, Washington informed Beijing of the shootdown on Saturday and described the balloon as a “obvious infringement” of American sovereignty.
Austin thanked Canada “for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon… as it transited North America” in a statement released on Saturday following the downing, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that Canada “strongly supports” the shootdown and promised to “keep working together” with the United States, including through the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD).
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Canada’s reaction to the Chinese balloon
Canadian Minister of Defence Anita Anand released a statement on Twitter saying, “Today, the United States took definitive action to bring down China’s high-altitude surveillance balloon that violated U.S. and Canadian airspace, and international law. Canada has been closely engaged with the U.S. on this decision. We unequivocally support this action.”, “The bi-national @NORADCommand has been tracking and analyzing the trajectory and actions of the balloon – and this Canada-U.S. cooperation ensures the security and defence of North American air sovereignty. Today and always, we thank our people in uniform for having the watch.”
Sounds great doesn’t it? We have been tracking the ballon…… For 7 days? Who made the discovery, and when? Who decided it was just a no-threat balloon? And why was’t it shot down over Alaska or Canada where no one lives?
It was definitely a Chinese spy balloon, according to the US. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a weekend trip to China that was intended to lower already-high tensions between the two countries in response to its presence. So, if this is true, why did Canada allow a Chinese spy object to fly over western Canada without shooting it down or catching it in the air? What was the intention behind spying and what did China got from it?
According to the Pentagon, the balloon, which was carrying sensors and surveillance gear, was nimble and demonstrated its ability to alter route. The military had to take steps to stop it from gathering intelligence because it lingered over critical locations in Montana where nuclear warheads are stored.
Really? Spy balloon that carried spy sensors and surveillance gear was shot down couple days later over US territory and Canada did what? Canada monitored the spying activity? Maybe we are not experts, but would you let someone peep into your house window for couple days, record what you say and do and you just observe that? And you call that a successful activity and ensuring the security and defence of North American air sovereignty?
Chinese response to balloon shoot-down
The “airship’s” flight over the United States was a result of a force majeure mishap, according to China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, which also charged American politicians and media for exploiting the incident to cast doubt on Beijing.
Beijing said in a statement on Sunday that it “will steadfastly safeguard the relevant company’s legal rights and interests, while also maintaining the right to take further actions in response.”
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the U.S.’s use of force was “an apparent overreaction and a serious violation of international standards” after the plane was shot down. China would steadfastly defend the legitimate rights and interests of the relevant enterprise, it was underlined, while reserving the right to take additional measures in response.
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Objections to the operation
The balloon entered the United States’ air defence zone north of the Aleutian Islands on January 28, travelled over land via Alaska, and reached Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on January 30, according to defence and military authorities in the United States on Saturday. The following day, it returned to American soil over northern Idaho. Under the condition of anonymity, U.S. officials discussed the delicate subject.
According to the White House, Biden received his initial balloon briefing on Tuesday. The top Chinese diplomat headquartered in Washington was the subject of a conversation between Blinken and deputy secretary Wendy Sherman on Wednesday night, according to the State Department.
The Pentagon press secretary, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, acknowledged that the balloon was not carrying weapons when he made the first official statement on behalf of the United States on Thursday evening. The U.S. government, according to him, “moved swiftly to protect against the acquisition of sensitive information once the balloon was spotted.”
The balloon presented a threat to the United States even if it was unarmed, according to former Army Gen. John Ferrari, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He said that the flight itself may be used to test American threat detection capabilities and uncover weaknesses in the nation’s air defence warning system. Additionally, it might have given the Chinese the ability to pick up electromagnetic emissions that higher-altitude satellites are unable to see, such low-power radio frequencies that could teach them how various American weapon systems communicate.
General Jack Keane, a retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the US Army, criticised Biden for doing nothing to stop a Chinese spy balloon that had been flying over the US all week and was finally shot down today.
“Keep in mind that this was travelling over water to the United States”, Keane said. “It was travelling over water toward the Aleutian Islands. And at that time, we had many opportunities to take it down. And that’s when it was supposed to happen. We had plenty of time to prepare the operation we are currently executing on the east coast, which should have been done there, and we had to be tracking it from mainland China across the Pacific Ocean”.
Whatever one might believe, a great decision by the US Government to shoot it down today instead of few days ago and whatever we might hear from Canadian officials, one stands; China has made it clear to US and Canada – WE CAN ENTER YOUR TERRITORY AND CONDUCT OPERATIONS OVER EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME!
