U.S.-China Tension Grows as Suspected Spy Balloon Leads to Postponed Visit, Wall Street Journal, Feb. 4, 2023.
Antony Blinken’s trip is delayed indefinitely, and both sides weigh how much further to escalate the incident
The U.S. military’s downing on Saturday of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the eastern seaboard adds to a cycle of provocation and retaliation the two global powers are finding hard to break.
This week’s appearance of the balloon over the continental U.S. rattled Washington and had already prompted the suspension of a trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, in what would have been the highest-level U.S. visit to China’s capital in four years. On Saturday, as the balloon drifted eastward and crossed the South Carolina coast, a U.S. military jet fired a missile to bring it down, marking a dramatic end to a flight Beijing has described as a meteorological research endeavor that had blown off course.
(To be continued…)
From the USCBC mailing list
The US military’s downing on Saturday of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the eastern seaboard adds to a cycle of provocation and retaliation the two global powers are finding hard to break. This week’s appearance of the balloon over the continental US rattled Washington and had already prompted the suspension of a trip by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing, in what would have been the highest-level US visit to China’s capital in four years. On Saturday, as the balloon drifted eastward and crossed the South Carolina coast, a US military jet fired a missile to bring it down, marking a dramatic end to a flight Beijing has described as a meteorological research endeavor that had blown off course. Mr. Blinken on Friday called the balloon’s presence a violation of US sovereignty, and some members of Congress had reproached the administration for not shooting it down sooner. China’s government—which earlier expressed regret about the balloon’s flight path, denied violating any nation’s airspace and accused some US politicians of hyping the incident—didn’t immediately comment on the balloon’s demise. China’s Foreign Ministry had issued a statement in response to Mr. Blinken’s cancellation expressing a desire to maintain contacts and stating that it is up to diplomats to “manage some unexpected situations in a cool-headed and prudent manner.” Now, as the US moves to salvage the balloon and its payload, both sides face challenges about how much further to escalate the incident. “It’s a bit worrisome when nuclear powers start shooting down the surveillance vehicles of the other, although surely the Chinese would have done the same if the situation were reversed,” said Daniel Russel, a former senior State Department official now with the Asia Society Policy Institute. Depending on China’s response, he said, “we may find the relationship back in a downward spiral.”