Chinese spy balloon

News highlights:

• Chinese spy balloon: The United States shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that had floated over the Western U.S. for several days, triggering the latest diplomatic crisis amid already worsening relations between the world’s two biggest powers.
• Last week’s discovery of the balloon over Montana triggered a diplomatic crisis that forced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to call off his much-anticipated trip to China until February 6.

The Story so far:

• High-altitude Chinese balloon:
  • From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a giant, white high-altitude balloon operated by China entered North American airspace, passing over Alaska, western Canada, and the contiguous United States.
  • The American and Canadian militaries alleged that the balloon was for surveillance; the Chinese government claimed it was a civilian meteorological research airship blown off course.
  • It was shot down on February 4, 2023, by the U.S. Air Force over territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina on orders from U.S. President Joe Biden.
• Previous sightings:
  • According to United States defence officials, this was the fifth detected Chinese surveillance balloon over the continental United States since 2017.
  • Chinese balloons suspected of surveillance activity have also entered United States airspace over Florida, Guam, and Hawaii.
  • In those instances, China was able to recover the balloons. 
• Worsen relations:
  • The incident strained relations between the United States and China, causing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a diplomatic visit to Beijing, which would have been the first such visit since 2018.
  • It also further strained Canada–China relations; due to the airspace incursion, Canada summoned the Chinese ambassador.
  • On February 3, the U.S. Department of Defense said a second Chinese balloon was passing over Latin America.

Surveillance balloons:

• History:
  • The use of surveillance balloons as a military technology dates to the 19th and 20th centuries, when various militaries employed them, including the United States and the Soviet Union, during the Cold War.
  • Despite being rendered mostly obsolete by the advent of manoeuvrable and stealthy surveillance satellites and drones, balloons retained some advantages, such as a lower cost of production and deployment.
  • The U.S. Department of Defense began investing in the military use of balloons in 2019 under its COLD STAR (Covert Long Dwell Stratospheric Architecture) program.
• Relevance of high-altitude balloons:
  • High-altitude balloons still have a significant role in the military, even though satellites, better planes, and drone technologies have diminished their use.
  • High-altitude balloons are less expensive, simpler to launch, and easier to manage than satellites, which can cost millions of dollars to build and launch.
  • Even though they cannot be directly steered, balloons can be generally directed to a desired area by altering altitude to capture different wind currents.
  • Furthermore, spy balloons have the benefit of being able to float around at lower altitudes, unlike satellites, which are at much higher altitudes and travel at incredible speeds, allowing better image quality and more time to gather intelligence in a specific area.

Pic Courtesy: Pixabay

Content Source: The Hindu

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