New Sharp China Episode: A Reconnaissance Balloon Spotted over the Continental U.S. and D.C. Cancels the Visit by Secretary Blinken
This special, short episode is outside the paywall.
On today's special episode of Sharp China Andrew and Bill reconvene for an emergency episode to share their reactions to the news that the Pentagon is tracking a Chinese reconnaissance balloon across the U.S., the statements coming from both the Pentagon and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the news that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has canceled his trip to Beijing.
You can listen to it here.
Some links:
US readout of Blinken’s call with Wang Yi:
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi to convey that he will not be traveling to the People’s Republic of China at this time in light of the current presence of a high-altitude PRC surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace. The Secretary relayed that he had planned to visit Beijing to follow up on the agenda agreed to by President Biden and President Xi in November in Bali. The Secretary noted the PRC’s statement of regret but conveyed that this is an irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip. The Secretary explained that in light of this ongoing issue, it would not be appropriate to visit Beijing at this time. He underscored that the United States is committed to diplomatic engagement and maintaining open lines of communication, and that he would be prepared to visit Beijing as soon as conditions allow.
Bloomberg with some details on the balloon surveillance program - High-Flying Balloon Seen as Part of Broader Chinese Spy Program:
The high-altitude balloon now floating at 60,000 feet over the continental US is part of a broader Chinese spying program that’s seen many such devices sent over the nation, including some during the Trump administration, according to US officials…
People familiar with the matter believe the balloon is maneuverable —because they’ve detected it changing course — and anticipate it will likely remain in US airspace for several more days. Nonetheless, they’ve decided not to try to shoot it down for now, arguing that the risk to the public of falling debris is too high as its payload is the size of several buses.
They flatly dismiss China’s claim that it’s a weather-monitoring vehicle given its size, previous Chinese espionage activity in the same vein, and private acknowledgment from Chinese officials of its true nature.
Good move by Washington.
U.S. protests about human rights violations in Xinjiang and Hong Kong fall on deaf ears in Beijing. Violations of "national sovereignty," say the Chinese.
It cuts both ways. Don't send spy balloons over a country if you want to discuss "normalizing" relations with it. National sovereignty.
The Biden Administration has a good ear for the back-and-forth of diplomacy with the Chinese.
COMMENT ON THE NEWS
US Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon.
This week the US detected a Chinese spy balloon some 60000 feet above its territory. This caused a diplomatic incident with the US cancelling an upcoming visit to China by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
I suppose in the opaque world of espionage and international deceit this was to be expected, but at the same time I found it odd. I mean, countries spy on countries, we know that to be a fact. We know that China spies on the US, and that China spies on Australia. I am assuming that it is a fact that the US spies on China, and that my country, Australia spies on China. If Australia does not spy on China then I would be wanting to know, why on earth aren’t they? They should be upping their game and get right on it. When I was a young lad, one of the first memories I have of international politics was the shooting down of an American spy plane, the U-2 piloted by Gary Powers over Russia. On this occasion, when the US learnt their plane had been downed, they said that it was a ‘weather plane that had strayed off course’. [I’m thinking of that saying about history repeating itself].
Look, countries spy on those they consider hostile. This is not too much to get one’s head around, and confecting some moral outrage when one country catches another at the oldest profession in the world – ok, second oldest – is simply hubris. It’s disingenuous, self righteous, hypocritical nonsense. Can I borrow Bentham’s quote? Nonsense upon stilts! For heaven’s sake, the US even spies on its friends, remember the mini-scandal when they spied on the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, some years ago? And my country spies on allies as well – witness the scandal when caught spying on East Timor during commercial negotiations.
Maybe the growing tension between the US and China, stoked in no small way by the circling of China by an ever increasing number of US military bases, needs to be addressed by way of avoiding some cataclysmic military conflict rather than focusing on an everyday occurrence – one nation spying on another.