Has Biden Made a Mistake?Big

By Alex Chansol Lee ‘29 ARTLESS STUDENT WRITER

On f ebruary 4th 2023, a giant white balloon that China had launched was shot down over US territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina. The balloon contained surveillance tools, probably intended to spy on the US military tactics and preparedness. Later, American officials stated that they had tracked the Chinese balloon since its launch in Hainan. Analysts have also said that the structural characteristics of the balloon were different from those of a typical weather balloon.

Suspiciously, there were three unidentified objects. On Feb 10th, an unidentified object was shot down off the coast of Alaska. The Pentagon has revealed that the object was the size of a small car. The following day, another high-altitude object was downed by Canada in Canadian airspace. On the third consecutive day, an octagonal-shaped object was spotted and shot down over Lake Huron. A senior administration official stated that it was an octag- onal shape with strings attached to it, but without any payload.

China also hasn’t admitted anything about the balloon being a spy balloon and stated in a firm tone that the balloons were civilian research vessels that strayed off course due to technical problems. They have also stated that the scientific equipment was for atmospheric observation in a warning tone. China has also accused the US of violating international laws and warned the US against any further escalation. But China has also provoked the US by refusing to pick up a call from the US defense secretary Lloyd Austin.

This wasn’t the first time this has happened, either. There have been discoveries that show the balloons were used even during Donald Trump’s presidency. A senior Pentagon official has stated that there was one more balloon at the beginning of Biden’s administration, and at least three more spy balloons throughout Trump’s presidency, although Trump officials have denied these claims. Since the first discovery of the spy balloons, the US and Canada are beginning to see more and more. This is also due to the media’s attention is focused on this topic and the government is constantly keeping an eye.

These incidents have increased US-China tensions along with Canada-China tensions. American

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has delayed his visit to Beijing and Canada has summoned the Chinese ambassador, raising tensions to their highest point. China and the US were already in high tensions due to the strategic competition of the economy and military sectors. At the same time, China confirmed ownership of another balloon that went off course into Latin America, and Europe and a big fleet of balloons that flew over 40+ countries.

On the 16th of February, Joe Biden stated that he will speak to Xi Jinping about this matter. And even amid the crossfire between the two countries, Biden has decided to calm tensions and not escalate tensions with China. “We seek competition, not conflict with China. We’re not looking for a new Cold War ... we will compete and will we responsibly manage that competition so that it doesn’t veer into conflict.” Biden has said. Biden has also said that the flying objects found above Lake Huron are proven to be non-related to China. This was found because the US radars became more sensitive after they found the spy balloons.

On the other hand, it might have been the right choice to keep the situation on a low profile if Biden didn’t want a big controversial argument around it. Making a big deal and starting a controversy, online and offline could be dangerous as well. With the current power of the social media platforms, anything could have happened if Biden had made a bold statement and attacked China in their arguments.

Overall, I think that Biden has made a huge mistake by letting go of the Chinese and not escalating this situation. China has invaded the privacy of the US and I think that Biden letting this situation pass above his head could be very dangerous. Getting a view of the economic and military side of a country, especially in a rivalry could give away so much such as how much they have prepared or how they’re doing in terms of their economic sides. Looking at how prepared they are, and how they are doing in terms of their economy could give a lot away to their rivals.

Works Cited

Wikipedia (2023) https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/2023_Chinese_balloon_incident

NY Times (Feb 16th 2023) https://www. nytimes.com/2023/02/16/us/politics/ biden-spy-balloon-ufo.html

The Hill (Feb 11th 2023) https://thehill. com / 3853310-why-trump-officials-wereunaware-of-chinese-spy-balloons/ CBS News (Feb 20th 2023) https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/ chinas-spy-balloon-unidentified-objectsshot-down-what-we-know-so-far/ NBC News (Feb 16th 2023) https:// www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-warns-us-spy-balloon-escalation-biden-rcna70945

Newsweek (Mar 2nd 2023) https://www. newsweek.com/china-response-us-shooting-down-spy-balloon-timeline-1779650

Time (Feb 6th 2023) https:// time.com/6253137/china-response-shoot-down-balloon-retaliate/