By Elena Siniscalco
An international controversy starring mysterious objects flying in the sky; a US commander refusing to rule out they might be UFOs; a prime minister reassuring us he’s focused on actual “terrestrial things”. This has to be the best story of the week.
If you’ve been reading about the Chinese balloons shot down by the US and Canada and you’re confused, you’re not the only one. Chaos and confusion were maximised by US General Glen VanHerck, who on Sunday said he would let “the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out”, when asked whether the balloons might be a sign of alien life.
The White House actually had to come out and confirm the balloons were not operated by extraterrestrial forms of life, but by the Chinese government. The defence establishment is convinced these balloons are used as spy weapons.
Let’s rewind. It all started in Montana 10 days ago, when the first Chinese spy balloon was shot down. Several others were spotted in the US and Canadian airspace in the following days, and taken down. The incidents increased tensions between the two countries, so much so that the long-awaited trip of US secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Beijing was postponed.
The Chinese government, unsurprisingly, claims innocence. First it said the object shot down in Montana was merely a weather balloon. Then it played the blame game, adding the US flies its own objects on China too. The Chinese foreign ministry said the US sent more than 10 high-altitude balloons over Chinese airspace in the last year. The Biden administration vehemently denied it.
The stir has reached our shores, with the spokesperson for prime minister Rishi Sunak having to ensure yesterday he was focusing on “terrestrial matters” and not on conspiracy theories about aliens. Playing the strongman, Rishi Sunak added Typhoon planes were already ready were mysterious Chinese balloons to show up in our skies too.
As absurd as it all sounds, it is actually a serious defence and security issue. Defence secretary Ben Wallace has commissioned a security review to figure out whether this could be a potential threat to the UK as well. “This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse”, he said.
For now, it’s unclear whether the US was ignoring the problem – or didn’t realise there was one – or whether it is a new development in China’s strategy. Balloons are much less boisterous than satellite launches, so they can be sent up into the sky without too much hassle. That’s likely why the Chinese Communist Party picked them as a tool.
As peculiar of a row as this might sound, its implications will be felt the most not in the US and neither here in the UK. Last week, Taiwan confirmed that Chinese military balloons fly “very frequently” in its airspace, likely to collect data in light of a potential invasion. It’s so disturbing and alarming we might be tempted to pick the aliens theory after all.
The post Explainer-in-brief: UFOs or Chinese spy balloons? appeared first on CityAM.
