A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon traversed the United States before being shot down off the South Carolina coast by the U.S. Air Force on 4 February. The plane was part of NORAD, a defense organization operated jointly by the U.S. and Canada. NORAD’s stated purpose is to “prevent air attacks against North America, safeguard the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada by responding to unknown, unwanted, and unauthorized air activity approaching and operating within these airspaces, and provide aerospace and maritime warning for North America.”
The balloon first entered into the U.S. airspace over Alaska on January 28, but officials declared it was not over critical infrastructure, and was not detected any hostile intent. “Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. Government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” a Senior State Department Official said. This changed when the balloon started flying over the lower 48 states.
On February 9, the State Department declassified intelligence information about the Chinese spy balloon revealing that it was equipped with an antenna meant to pinpoint the locations of communications devices and able to intercept calls made on those devices. It could provide China with better photos and signals collection than satellites.
However, administration officials said the military had the time to observe the balloon and recover information valuable to understand the surveillance program conducted by the People’s Liberation Army.
Biden administration called the incident a sophisticated effort to survey “more than 40 countries across five continents.” A senior State Department official said these balloons are part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations.
The balloon incident affects both the US-China relationship and the U.S. domestic policy.
In light of the event, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken postponed the visit to Beijing, intended to follow up on the agenda agreed to by President Biden and President Xi in November 2022 in Bali. The Secretary spoke with the Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi, on 3 February. He 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.
A China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said the entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into U.S. airspace was unintended and due to force majeure.
“It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. This is entirely an unexpected situation caused by force majeure and the facts are very clear. China always acts in strict accordance with international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.”
Nevertheless, China reacted with anger to the shootdown.
On the national level, Republicans and Democrats raised questions concerning the delay in acting to stop the Chinese balloon asking for more details on the operations performed.
The incident threatened the fragile US-China relationships. However, President Joe Biden suggested the balloon fallout should not affect bilateral relations with China. In addition, Secretary Blinken 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.
The House passed a symbolic resolution condemning China’s surveillance balloon.
FBI conducts analyses to assess the pieces of the balloon recovered at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia. However, due to bad weather conditions critical evidence such as the ‘payload’ is lacking.
Three additional flying objects, that were also shot-down in Canada and the U.S. fomented speculations over possible Chinese or Russian spying attempts. On Friday, February 10, a US F-22 shot down a “high-altitude object” hovering over Alaska. A day after, Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, ordered to shoot down of an unidentified object flying over Canadian airspace. The last incident happened in Lake Huron (Michigan) on 12 February.
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a Statement concerning the actions of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
“Today at 2:42 p.m. ET, at the direction of President Biden, and based on the recommendations of Secretary Austin and military leadership, an F-16 fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down an airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan. Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation. The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery. There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected. North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the object Sunday morning and has maintained visual and radar tracking of it. Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites. We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more.”
U.S. Northern Command Successful operation
Gen. Glen VanHerck, Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, issued a Statement revealing details of the operation against the Chinese balloon.
“At the direction of the President of the United States and with the full support of the Government of Canada, United States fighter aircraft under U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) authority successfully brought down the PRC’s high altitude surveillance balloon at 2:39 p.m. EST, Feb. 4, 2023.
In accordance with the President’s direction, the military brought down the balloon within sovereign U.S. airspace and over U.S. territorial waters to protect civilians while maximizing our ability to recover the payload.
American and Canadian personnel from all three North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) regions tracked the surveillance balloon, and USNORTHCOM’s U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy service components integrated to successfully down the balloon and are working to recover the balloon and payload.
Active duty, Reserve, National Guard, and civilian personnel planned and executed the operation, and partners from the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation ensured public safety throughout the operation and recovery efforts.
Our U.S. Navy component is currently conducting recovery operations, with the U.S. Coast Guard assisting in securing the area and maintaining public safety.
I am proud of the exceptional professionalism the NORAD and USNORTHCOM team displayed throughout this operation, and the dedication they bring every day to defending our homelands.”
House passes resolution condemning China’s use of spy balloon
On 9 February, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul’s resolution, H.Res.104, condemning China over its use of a spy balloon violating U.S. sovereignty. Before the resolution’s passage, Chairman McCaul gave the following remarks:
“Last week, the nation watched in shock as a Chinese surveillance balloon traversed much of the United States, including sensitive American military sites like Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana,” McCaul said. “That base is one of the three places where our Minuteman III ICBM nuclear missiles are stored. Americans were rightfully, deeply disturbed by this brazen violation of sovereignty by the Chinese Communist Party. H.Res.104, sends a clear, bipartisan message to the CCP and to our adversaries around the world that this kind of aggression will not be tolerated. It tells the world, in one united voice, that our national security is not a partisan issue. We stand together today with one voice as Americans.”
Chinese reaction
A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson said on 3 February that the entry of the balloon into U.S. Airspace was unintended.
“We have no intention to violate and has never violated the territory or airspace of any sovereign country,” said F.M. Spokesperson on 4 February. “Some politicians and media in the US have hyped it up to attack and smear China. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to that. Maintaining contact and communication at all levels is an important common understanding reached by the Chinese and US presidents at their meeting in Bali. One of the tasks of the diplomatic teams on both sides is to properly manage bilateral relations, particularly to manage some unexpected situations in a cool-headed and prudent manner. In fact, neither side has ever announced that there would be a visit. It is a matter for the US to make its latest announcement, and we respect that.”