The manufactured outrage by the United States government and its Republican opposition to the sighting of a Chinese balloon over their territory with another one possibly on the way is a joy to behold. Nothing unites our North Atlantic cousins so much as a claimed incursion into their sacred territory – even if that territory is several miles above to surface of the planet. The Americans claim that these ‘could be’ balloons with the capability of spying on them.
I have absolutely no doubt that China spies on the United States. In fact I have no doubt and not a little hope that we do too. That is, when we are not spying on our own population for potential violations of Covid regulations. But balloons, really?
The Chinese are urging calm over the situation, claiming that these are weather balloons. The Americans are saying ‘a likely story’ and ‘pull the other one’ while deciding not to shoot them down, allegedly in case they cause damage on the ground. This is a bit rich from a government that will not be happy until it has introduced an experimental and, for some people, lethal substance into the arms of their entire population in the guise of a Covid vaccine.
Donald Trump—a man with a penchant for straight talking and direct solutions—says they should simply shoot it down, but Google why they are not and you will see that the forces opposed to shooting it down have organised and massed on social media. Thus military experts, fighter pilots and scientists warn against this course of action. My guess is they don’t want to shoot it down in case it turns out to be just what the Chinese claim it is: a weather balloon. But the United States prefers to maintain the mystery, the ambiguity, so that its position—increasingly looking ridiculous—can continue to be justified.
In 2019 the Americans accused the Israelis of planting mobile phone spying devices near the White House. These were the Trump years so that must have been an amusing listen in for anyone monitoring the calls. The Americans were less than pleased about this, but their displeasure over something that almost certainly took place and which, if it did, had real spying capabilities was a shadow of the present fury which they have unleashed on China. We can only speculate as to why.
Of course, as with anyone critical of our NATO response to the war in Ukraine being accused of being pro-Putin, anyone not joining in the outrage about the Chinese balloons will be accused of being sympathetic to China and its role in the world*. Nothing could be further from the truth. But the situation internationally is like a tinder box at the moment. Europe could be on the verge of full-scale war and the situation in the South China Sea is fragile with China poised to invade Taiwan. The last thing they need is a push into doing so.
Disclosure: the author is employed part-time by Southwest Medical University, China
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