Chinese Balloon Incident

 

The United States has accused China of sending a surveillance balloon into its air space. Eventually, it was shot down. There has not been an investigation  discovering if this was a genuine act of espionage. Making assumptions without evidence will result to incorrect conclusions. China has stated that it was a weather balloon blown off course. Other balloons have even reached Latin America. China would have no reason to spy on Latin American countries seeing as diplomatic relations are better compared with the US. A surveillance balloon is not an effective tool for espionage. Hacking, satellites, and having agents infiltrate a country would provide more information. That is why the parts must be gathered to determine if this was a spy balloon. The Chinese Balloon incident could be a scare campaign to get the American public to embrace anti-Chinese sentiment. The FBI so far has claimed the balloon was capable of electronic surveillance. Considering it was shot down much of the equipment will be damaged. Using a balloon is not effective, because it lacks control by a person. A drone would have better capabilities at gathering intelligence. If this was some type of Chinese intelligence operation, then it might be a reaction to US actions in Asia. The United States has undermined the One China policy and continues to be active in Taiwan. The United States does not acknowledge that actions in Asia could have wider international consequences.