The United States has accused China of flying a “spy balloon” in its airspace setting off a political row in Washington.
What is the issue?
A spy balloon was seen floating over sensitive areas of Montana in the US which led to accusations against China by the United States.
Beijing has responded, calling the object a civilian airship used for meteorological research.
Within hours of the news of the first balloon, the Pentagon confirmed that a second surveillance balloon is floating over the Latin American skies.
The Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down by the U.S. military.
Beijing has dismissed Washington’s accusations of surveillance and international airspace violation as an attempt to attack and smear China.
China said that it is a force majeure (unforeseen event) as the airship deviated far from its planned course due to the Westerlies and limited self-steering capability.
What is the history of surveillance balloons?
Spy balloon is literally a gas-filled balloon that is flying quite high in the sky and has some sophisticated cameras and imaging technology on it.
High-altitude balloons have been used since 18th century for reconnaissance and other military missions dates.
French Revolutionary Wars – In the late 18th century, balloons were used to provide a bird’s eye view of the battlefield and been an evidence of their use in the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.
From the American Civil War to World War I - Balloons have been in use in all kinds of conflict, primary mode of big-picture reconnaissance, providing perspective on enemy.
Japanese military tried to hit flammable bombs into US territory using balloons that were designed to float in jet stream air currents killing several civilians.
Project Genet – It is a large-scale series of missions that flew photographic balloons over Soviet bloc territory by the U.S military.
What are the pros and cons of spy balloons?
Pros of spy balloons
Cheap to use - Unlike satellites which can cost millions of dollars to create, and require sophisticated technology to launch, high-altitude balloons are cheap and easy to launch and control.
Quality images at lower heights - Satellites move at higher altitudes and incredible speeds but spy balloons will hover around at lower heights, thus providing better quality images.
Cons of spy balloons
Time - It takes more time to gather intelligence in a particular area unlike satellites that are aimed at perfect time and space.
Altitude changes - While balloons cannot directly be steered they can be roughly guided to a target area by changing altitudes to catch different wind currents.
What is the impact on China-U.S ties?
Relationship getting worser – The relationship 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.
The detection of the balloon over Montana sparked a diplomatic crisis, leading to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling off a highly anticipated visit to China.
China also slammed the move to shoot it down as an overreaction.
Now it is getting even worse as the security of the nation is questioned.
Balloons were also spotted over Japan in 2020 and 2021, and over India’s Andaman Islands last year.
New Delhi and Tokyo may now be prompted to reassess how they handle such intrusions in the future.
