Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
“The China balloon shot down by the U.S. was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared Thursday…
“A fleet of balloons operates under the direction of the People’s Liberation Army and is used specifically for spying, outfitted with high-tech equipment designed to gather sensitive information from targets across the globe, the U.S. said. Similar balloons have sailed over five continents, according to the administration…
“The public details outlining the program’s scope and capabilities were meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that U.S. accusations about the balloon amount to ‘information warfare.’” AP News
Here’s our prior coverage of the incident. The Flip Side
The right worries about the rising threat from China and urges a strong response.
“[At the State of the Union, Biden] spent more time touting his Junk Fee Prevention Act — and promising to take on outrageous ‘resort fees’ — than discussing the threat from Beijing… Biden wants to brush the incident under the rug because it was yet another national security failure on his watch — one that even Democrats have called him out on…
“This incursion could have been a dry run to test U.S. defenses — which are clearly lacking. What if the next Chinese blimp carries not spyware but weapons of mass destruction or an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) capable of short-circuiting our power grid and shutting down critical infrastructure? China has reportedly been testing such weapons.”
Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post
“The Pentagon announced [on Tuesday] that the communist nation has surpassed the U.S. in the number of intercontinental ballistic missile launchers it has… In addition to this massive expansion of its ICBM force, China is cranking out nuclear warheads…
“The U.S. nuclear force was designed over a decade ago to deter primarily Russia, not both Russia and China… It is well past time [that] the U.S. make plans to strengthen its nuclear forces to bolster deterrence of the growing Chinese threat. These efforts should include increasing the overall size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and fielding additional capabilities like the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile. The U.S. will also need to improve its ability to make changes to its nuclear forces as the threat continues to quickly evolve.”
Patty-Jane Geller, Daily Signal
“The threat that China represents is not just balloons. It’s TikTok and its widespread data collection on Americans. It’s Beijing’s efforts to develop an alternative to the U.S. dollar to undermine the strength of our financial system. It’s China’s bullying of its neighbors and threatening of our allies…
“It’s the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to dominate international institutions and ensure policies that favor its authoritarian regime are advanced. It is the country’s manipulation of supply chains and ambitions to ensure that ‘Made in China’ is the only option available to American consumers. The American people need to understand just how big a threat China is, and that our country needs leadership to stand up to it.”
Mike Rogers, Fox News
The left worries about escalation and urges efforts to reduce tensions.
The left worries about escalation and urges efforts to reduce tensions.
“This mishap shouldn’t derail America’s broader goals in its relationship with China. In particular, Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who canceled a planned trip to Beijing over the incident — needs to reschedule his visit and get back to work…
“The balloon’s flight has been an unmitigated PR disaster for China, with apparently little intelligence payoff; Chinese President Xi Jinping is hardly likely to float squadrons of other dirigibles across the US anytime soon, even if diplomacy is revived. In fact, China’s embarrassment might lend Blinken more leverage in talks. The US would enter discussions from a strong position in any event. As China struggles to revive its economy, the US is faring much better than many analysts had expected. It has [also] gained powerful allies.”
The Editors, Bloomberg
“Japan is increasing its defense budget, and the United States is beefing up a marine regiment on Okinawa. The Philippines has given the American military access to four additional bases. The United States is increasing the number of its bombers and fighter jets in Australia. A new deal will see the United States jointly produce weapons with India…
“What’s missing is the other important pillar of an Asia strategy… [Beijing] has been aggressively pushing ahead on the trade front. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, which came into force last year, is a free-trade pact among 15 countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN… To compete with China, the U.S. should put real trade deals on the table.”
Editorial Board, Washington Post
“On the military front, the United States should adopt a defensive strategy rather than spinning out dangerous scenarios of how to win a war with a nuclear-armed power. US military spending is about two-and-a-half times that of China, and the US has major allies in the region of a sort that China does not… An active denial strategy that focuses on supplying defensive weapons to US allies and a lower-profile, more agile deployment of US forces in the region would raise the costs of Chinese military action without exacerbating China’s own sense of insecurity.”
Jake Werner and William D. Hartung, The Nation
