Spy Balloon Flashpoint Between USA & China: SSB Interview Topic

Zaheer Hussain
March 14, 2023
215

The US shot down a Chinese spy balloon just days after the surveillance device was first spotted over American airspace, bringing the dramatic saga that had been playing out on television and social media to an explosive climax and dealing yet another blow to the two countries already strained diplomatic relations.

Why In The News?

Chinese-American Relations Took A Nosedive At The Weekend When The US Destroyed A Suspicious ‘Spy’ Balloon Launched From Beijing. China Said It’s “Strongly” Discontented With The US Downing Of Its Balloon And Reserves The Right To Any Necessary Reaction To The Incident.

Responses From USA & China

China Claimed Ownership Of The Balloon And Insisted It Was An Unmanned Weather Surveillance Aircraft That Had Veered Off Course, But The US Remains Unconvinced.
US Officials Have Said It Was Being Used For Surveillance & Intelligence Collection, Although Did Not Pose ‘A Military Or Physical Threat’.

How Does A Spy Balloon Work?

Spy Balloons Are Huge, High-altitude Balloons, Each Around The Size Of Three Buses, That Are Used As Surveillance Devices. They Provide An Alternative Surveillance Option To Satellites At A Higher Altitude In Low-Earth Or Medium-Earth Orbit.
These Spy Balloons Have High-tech Equipment Attached, Including Cameras And Sensors.
Spy Balloons Contain Gas Such As Hydrogen And Helium That Aid Them In Float With The Wind.
Typically Operate Higher Than Commercial Airplanes Or Even Fighter Jets And Spy Planes.
The Surveillance Balloons Are Equipped With Cameras, Sensors, And Radars, Which Point Down At The Ground, All Powered By Attached Solar Panels.
Sophisticated Cameras Allow Them To Take Photographs Of What’s Down On The Earth’s Surface, Potentially With Powerful Zoom Capabilities.
It’s Even Likely These Cameras Can See Outside Of The Visible Part Of The Electromagnetic Spectrum, Such As Infrared, Letting Them Observe At Night. These Come At Much More Flexibility Than Conventional Commercial Devices Used For Surveillance.

History Of Spy Balloons

Balloons Used For Surveillance Aren’t New And Primitive Ones Date Back Centuries, As Far Back To The Late 18th Century.
In 1794, The French Used Manned Air Balloons To Observe The Enemy During The Battle Of Fleurus, But They Came Into Greater Use In World War II.
During The Conflict, Japan Launched Thousands Of Hydrogen Balloons Carrying Bombs, And Hundreds Ended Up In The US And Canada. Most Were Ineffective, But One Was Lethal; In May 1945, Six Civilians Died When They Found One Of The Balloons On The Ground In Oregon, And It Exploded.

The Repercussions

The Balloon First Entered US Airspace Over Alaska On January 28, Before Drifting Over Canada And Then Back Into The US. A US F-22 Fighter Jet Shot Down The Balloon Over The Atlantic Off South Carolina On Saturday, A Response China Described As An ‘Obvious Overreaction’.
The Hunt Is Now On By US Authorities To Find The Remaining Fragments Of The Balloon, Which Could Reveal More About Its Capabilities. The Incident Prompted Secretary Of State Antony Blinken To Postpone His China Visit Next Weekend Meant To Thaw Relationships And Find Common Ground.
The Relationship Between The US And China Have Been Tense In Recent Times, With Issues Ranging From Taiwan And The South China Sea To Human Rights In China’s Western Xinjiang Region And The Clampdown On Democracy Activists In Hong Kong.

Spy Balloon Latest Flashpoint Between USA China 1

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