Chinese Surveillance

On February 1, 2023, a large, flying white orb was spotted flying over the Carolina coast by civilians on a commercial airliner. It was later suspected to be a Chinese surveillance balloon that had been traveling all across North America, specifically sensitive military sites. Although China has insisted that the balloon is simply collecting weather data, the balloon has deeply offended Americans.

For example, Secretary of State Antony Blinken even canceled a high-stakes trip to China, which was supposed to ease up tensions. The presence of the balloon immediately tightened tensions between the U.S. and China. However, China also tries to mitigate the cancellation of the trip and claims that the two countries never announced any visit.

The balloon was issued to be taken down by President Joe Biden, but it took some time to wait for the balloon to float over water, as bringing it down on land would pose a risk to civilians. China quickly criticized the U.S. for overreacting to the balloon. U.S. military officials immediately assessed the threat, concluding that the technology wasn’t notable enough to label as a threat: much of the possibly attained information is what could already be obtained from satellites.

Nonetheless, on February 4th, 2023, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, popping it near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The debris landed in the water and was spread out over roughly seven miles, with several ships sailing around collecting the parts. The U.S. Navy has recovered most parts, stating that the balloon carried high-speed cameras, sensors, signal-jamming devices, and photography equipment. The U.S. Navy has completed the bulk of its recovery work on the initial Chinese surveillance balloon, which was carrying electronics, sensors, and photography equipment, officials have said.

Throughout this, the general American reaction has been a slight fear that Chinese officials have been stealing American secrets and simultaneous wonder if they’ll witness the balloon above their city.

The Pentagon has also reported that there was a second Chinese surveillance balloon flying over Latin America. It has also been confirmed that the pod under the balloon is carrying equipment that is not usually associated with typical weather-collecting data or civilian research.

Three other aerial crafts were shot down (in Canada, Alaska, and Lake Huron), but there is no evidence to suggest that these were also Chinese surveillance balloons. They are assumed to be connected with private research companies.

Many posts on the Chinese internet share the common reaction that the U.S. is blowing this all out of proportion. Many have joked that the U.S. defense system isn’t even strong enough to ward off a balloon. Many other influencers around the world have also joined the mockery.

Many Republicans were unsatisfied with Biden’s response and reaction time. The top Republican on the Senate Armed Service Committee expressed that the toleration of a spy balloon to travel the entire United States was a “disastrous projection of weakness” by the White House.

Despite this, President Joe Biden has maintained his stance that the wait was necessary, so that the balloon could be taken down safely over water, and that he “makes no apologies for taking down that balloon”.