{"id":3653,"date":"2023-02-03T12:57:46","date_gmt":"2023-02-03T12:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3653"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:53:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:53:30","slug":"tensions-between-china-and-us-escalate-over-suspected-chinese-spy-balloon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/analysis\/defense\/tensions-between-china-and-us-escalate-over-suspected-chinese-spy-balloon\/2023\/02\/03\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions between China and US escalate over suspected Chinese spy balloon"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> A<\/span> Chinese<\/span> reconnaissance<\/span> balloon<\/span> had<\/span> flown<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> for<\/span> several<\/span> days,<\/span> U.S.<\/span> officials<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Fighters<\/span> were<\/span> mobilized,<\/span> but<\/span> military<\/span> leaders<\/span> advised<\/span> President<\/span> Joe<\/span> Biden<\/span> not<\/span> to<\/span> launch<\/span> balloons<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> sky<\/span> because<\/span> debris<\/span> could<\/span> pose<\/span> a<\/span> security<\/span> threat,<\/span> Biden<\/span> accepted<\/span> that<\/span> advice<\/span>\u00a0said<\/span> a<\/span> U.S.<\/span> official.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>An<\/span> official,<\/span> speaking<\/span> on<\/span> condition<\/span> of<\/span> anonymity,<\/span> told<\/span> reporters<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> “protected”<\/span> the<\/span> balloon<\/span> as<\/span> it<\/span> entered<\/span> US<\/span> airspace<\/span> and<\/span> was<\/span> observed<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> manned<\/span> US<\/span> military<\/span> aircraft.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Separately,<\/span> Canada’s<\/span> Ministry<\/span> of<\/span> Defense<\/span> said<\/span> a<\/span> “high-altitude<\/span> surveillance<\/span> balloon”<\/span> had<\/span> been<\/span> spotted<\/span> and<\/span> was<\/span> monitoring<\/span> a<\/span> “second<\/span> possible<\/span> incident,”<\/span> without<\/span> giving<\/span> further<\/span> details.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“The<\/span> U.S.<\/span> government<\/span> has<\/span> spotted<\/span> and<\/span> is<\/span> tracking<\/span> a<\/span> high-altitude<\/span> surveillance<\/span> balloon<\/span> just<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> continental<\/span> United<\/span> States,”<\/span> Pentagon<\/span> spokesman<\/span> Brigadier<\/span> General<\/span> Patrick<\/span> Ryder<\/span> told<\/span> reporters.<\/span> “Balloons<\/span> now<\/span> fly<\/span> well<\/span> above<\/span> commercial<\/span> air<\/span> traffic<\/span> and<\/span> pose<\/span> no<\/span> military<\/span> or<\/span> physical<\/span> threat<\/span> to<\/span> people<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> ground.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“I<\/span> would<\/span> like<\/span> to<\/span> emphasize<\/span> that<\/span> speculation<\/span> and<\/span> hype<\/span> cannot<\/span> help<\/span> us<\/span> properly<\/span> resolve<\/span> the<\/span> issue<\/span> until<\/span> the<\/span> facts<\/span> are<\/span> clear,”<\/span> he<\/span> said,<\/span> adding<\/span> that<\/span> China<\/span> complies<\/span> with<\/span> international<\/span> law.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“China<\/span> has<\/span> no<\/span> intention<\/span> of<\/span> encroaching<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> territories<\/span> and<\/span> airspace<\/span> of<\/span> sovereign<\/span> states,”<\/span> said<\/span> Mao<\/span> Zedong.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> US<\/span> official<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> had<\/span> raised<\/span> the<\/span> issue<\/span> with<\/span> China<\/span> through<\/span> diplomatic<\/span> channels.<\/span> “We<\/span> let<\/span> them<\/span> know<\/span> how<\/span> seriously<\/span> we<\/span> take<\/span> this<\/span> issue,”<\/span> said<\/span> a<\/span> US<\/span> official.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> U.S.<\/span> official<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> value<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> balloon<\/span> was<\/span> “limited<\/span> from<\/span> an<\/span> intelligence<\/span> perspective.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Blinken<\/span> is<\/span> scheduled<\/span> to<\/span> visit<\/span> China<\/span> next<\/span> week<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> visit<\/span> agreed<\/span> to<\/span> by<\/span> Biden<\/span> and<\/span> Chinese<\/span> President<\/span> Xi<\/span> Jinping<\/span> in<\/span> November.<\/span> It<\/span> was<\/span> not<\/span> clear<\/span> how<\/span> the<\/span> discovery<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> reconnaissance<\/span> balloon<\/span> would<\/span> affect<\/span> these<\/span> plans.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Relations<\/span> between<\/span> China<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> have<\/span> deteriorated<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> especially<\/span> after<\/span> his<\/span> August<\/span> visit<\/span> to<\/span> Taiwan<\/span> by<\/span> then-U.S.<\/span> House<\/span> Speaker<\/span> Nancy<\/span> Pelosi,<\/span> with<\/span> dramatic<\/span> Chinese<\/span> military<\/span> exercises<\/span> near<\/span> the<\/span> autonomous<\/span> island.<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Since<\/span> then,<\/span> Washington<\/span> and<\/span> Beijing<\/span> have<\/span> been<\/span> in<\/span> more<\/span> frequent<\/span> contact,<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> prevent<\/span> ties<\/span> from<\/span> souring.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Defense<\/span> expert<\/span> John<\/span> Palacini<\/span> estimated<\/span> the<\/span> size<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> balloon<\/span> at<\/span> three<\/span> times<\/span> his<\/span> bus<\/span> length.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>One<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> officials<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> trajectory<\/span> would<\/span> pass<\/span> the<\/span> balloon<\/span> through<\/span> many<\/span> sensitive<\/span> locations,<\/span> but<\/span> declined<\/span> to<\/span> give<\/span> details.<\/span> Malmstrom<\/span> Air<\/span> Force<\/span> Base<\/span> in<\/span> Montana<\/span> has<\/span> 150<\/span> ICBM<\/span> silos.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Another<\/span> US<\/span> official<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> balloon<\/span> was<\/span> tracked<\/span> near<\/span> the<\/span> Aleutian<\/span> Islands<\/span> and<\/span> Canada<\/span> before<\/span> entering<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Such<\/span> balloons<\/span> typically<\/span> operate<\/span> at<\/span> altitudes<\/span> of<\/span> 80,000<\/span> to<\/span> 120,000<\/span> feet<\/span> (24,000<\/span> to<\/span> 37,000<\/span> m),<\/span> well<\/span> above<\/span> the<\/span> altitudes<\/span> at<\/span> which<\/span> commercial<\/span> air<\/span> traffic<\/span> flies.<\/span> The<\/span> most<\/span> powerful<\/span> fighter<\/span> jets<\/span> typically<\/span> don’t<\/span> operate<\/span> above<\/span> 65,000<\/span> feet,<\/span> but<\/span> reconnaissance<\/span> aircraft<\/span> like<\/span> the<\/span> U-2<\/span> service<\/span> his<\/span> ceiling<\/span> above<\/span> 80,000<\/span> feet.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>From<\/span> military<\/span> spy<\/span> satellites<\/span> in<\/span> space<\/span> to<\/span> advanced<\/span> electronic<\/span> reconnaissance<\/span> planes<\/span> and<\/span> submarines,<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> routinely<\/span> deploys<\/span> a<\/span> variety<\/span> of<\/span> tools<\/span> to<\/span> monitor<\/span> China’s<\/span> military<\/span> buildup,<\/span> analysts<\/span> and<\/span> diplomats<\/span> say.<\/span> China<\/span> has<\/span> often<\/span> complained<\/span> about<\/span> US<\/span> surveillance,<\/span> including<\/span> using<\/span> ships<\/span> and<\/span> planes<\/span> near<\/span> Chinese<\/span> military<\/span> exercises.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Spy<\/span> balloons<\/span> have<\/span> flown<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> several<\/span> times<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> balloons<\/span> seemed<\/span> to<\/span> last<\/span> longer<\/span> than<\/span> previous<\/span> instances,<\/span> he<\/span> said,<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.<\/span> officials.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Chinese reconnaissance balloon had flown over the United States for several days, U.S. officials said. Fighters were mobilized, but military leaders advised President Joe Biden not to launch balloons out of the sky because debris could pose a security threat, Biden accepted that advice\u00a0said a U.S. official. An official, speaking on […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[26,24,276,2425],"tags":[77,152,959,960,961],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/balomn.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3653"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3656,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3653\/revisions\/3656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}