China. The United States. What is next for these two countries?

Alys Obermaier
Feb 28, 2023
4 min read

China. The United States. Both very widespread, yet very powerful countries. Making up over 4% of the world’s total population, the two countries share much in common, including their upper hand in modern day warfare. And yet, on February 1st, we find an unidentified aircraft awaiting the attention of the U.S. government. Suspected to be a Chinese spy balloon, this aerial object takes the form of an air balloon, confirmed to be carrying survailence equipment and uncrewed. Equivalent to the size of three buses, this aircraft was last seen floating 60,000 feet above ground level before being taken down.

“A US Air Force pilot looked down at the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the Central Continental United States on February 3, 2023. Recovery efforts began shortly after the balloon was downed.”

(Britzky, Haley. “Pentagon Releases Selfie Taken by US Pilot Showing the Chinese Spy Balloon in Air | CNN Politics.” CNN, Cable News Network)

Claimed to be of Chinese origin, this Asian air balloon began its journey in Beijing, and swept into Canada, likely by strong wind currents and other weather patterns. From there, the aircraft made its way through North America to last be seen surfing the country’s skies well above Montana residences.

The object even flew high overhead commercial airplanes and local aircrafts. In addition, this aerial object was even caught on camera by residents, in which they expressed their shock and confusion about this high-altitude object on record.

When met with the presence of the balloon, the U.S. president, Joe Biden, followed the advice of his military leaders, having chosen to shoot down the aircraft further into its journey, and once above water. As a precaution, local airports were alerted and flights were suspended, leaving many citizens confused and concerned. Although the North American government has stated this balloon should be of no concern, its presence did worry civilian witnesses and residents.

By looking into some recent footage of the shootdown, we can clearly see that the missile comes in contact with the balloon itself, which causes it to burst, sending its surveillance machinery down with it. In the instant this equipment had detached from the balloon, it fell at enormous speeds, to an extent that an existing building would have been completely demolished if it had hit.

Having confirmed the balloon's passage through restricted air space, the U.S. secretary was flown to China to consult with the country’s leaders, who verified its role in meteorological and civilian surveillance only. Despite having flown over the country’s defence sites and sensitive ground, U.S. government officials have stated that this Chinese surveillance balloon poses no threat to both the community and the American government. Similarly, the Chinese government has given its apologies to both the American public and congress, acknowledging it as an irresponsible action and assuring its purpose in weather watch only.

On one side of the debate, we have citizens siding with their president. Although this course of action resulted in a chain of negative effects on the government's image, this approach did avert civil catastrophe, putting many citizens out of harm. Due to its colossal size and weight, the velocity of the balloon’s payload was astonishing, being around 70 meters in height and weighing more than a couple thousand pounds. If not for the president’s choice, the residential damage and civilian harm could have exceeded this number.

In contrast, we find that many hold very different opinions. Due to the passive shoot-down of the aircraft, some have begun to question the protection provided by U.S. military security, with other such queries gradually arising throughout North America. Overall, it is no doubt that this incident provoked an international stir throughout North America, causing confusion and concern to arouse within the country.

As of the present, officials look at the wreckage in hopes that the fallen payload is salvageable, for there lies endless information embedded within the air balloon. Thus, the government has begun an operation to recover as much of the fallen debris as possible, bringing heavy salvage equipment with them to the South Carolina coast.

With the use of cranes and boats, crews were able to haul the battered sheet of the balloon and other significant components, such as priority sensors and camera data. While much of this debris has been successfully recovered by crew professionals, some of its smaller fragments still linger not too deep in the Atlantic. Some of the air balloon’s sunken remnants now reside 47 feet below the ocean’s surface, an easily workable depth for these crews to fish out the rubble.

From what officials have gathered from the wreckage, the air balloon did indeed carry surveillance cameras and other meteorological purposed equipment. Fortunately, many important components were able to be salvaged, making for a good start to the knowledge the government may acquire about the object's origins.

However, the government’s intention is not to investigate the information it may be hiding, for this is not the only aircraft they have on their hands. This Chinese surveillance balloon is one of three other unidentified aircrafts to have flown the U.S. airways, spotted and shot down in the process. This trio of aerial objects shares much in common, such as their close proximity encounters to sensitive sites during their journeys. What sets this Chinese balloon from the rest is that it is the only identified object to roam the North American skies in the past month.

Indeed, U.S. officials have much on their plates, but when it comes to aerial phenomena like this one, politicians do not find it hard to question the choices of the government. However, this incident in particular leads politicians to issue the relationship between the two countries, China and the U.S. What lies in store for these two countries, and what other aerial phenomena might the U.S. encounter?