New Delhi: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has decided to postpone his visit to China scheduled for next week. The move, like Blinken’s, comes after Chinese spy balloons were spotted in the skies over the US state of Montana. In fact, on Friday itself, it was revealed by the US Defense Ministry Pentagon that a Chinese spy balloon (spy balloon) is flying in the US sky after Canada. Not only this, it was revealed on Saturday that another Chinese spy balloon is present over Latin America. It is believed that through these balloons, China is trying to gather important information from America and its surrounding area.
What happened so far in the balloon event?
The surprising thing is that this spy balloon kept flying on the American continent for so many days without being detected. The first disclosure about it came when it reached Montana, a state with an important base for the US Air Force. In a hurry, the Ministry of Defense issued a notice to China regarding this. Later, the Foreign Ministry of China accepted that this is one of their passenger airships, which is used for research. Especially for collecting weather-related information. China says the balloon apparently lost its way due to westerly winds and limited self-driving capability.
So what are these spy balloons, on which America was alerted?
The history of the spy balloons that America has talked about over Montana dates back to World War II. In fact, these capsule-shaped balloons are several square feet large. They usually have the ability to fly at a great height from the ground, due to which they have mostly been used to gather information related to the weather. Especially to know the weather of a certain area. However, because of their ability to fly at great heights in the sky, they were also used for espionage.
These balloons can easily fly at an altitude of 24 thousand to 37 thousand feet from the ground, while this Chinese balloon is currently flying at an altitude of 60 thousand feet above America. Due to this, it is very difficult to monitor them from the ground. This range of their flying is much more than commercial aircraft. Most commercial aircraft do not go above 40,000 feet. Only fighter jets have the ability to fly at such a range, which can go up to 65 thousand feet. However, some more spy planes like the U-2 can fly up to an altitude of 80,000 feet.
These balloons are better spy tools than satellites
According to a report by the Air Command and Staff College of the US Air Force, these spy balloons sometimes prove to be a better intelligence tool than satellites. Actually, it can scan an area with more ease and time than a satellite. Through these, the countries sending them can collect such sensitive intelligence against the enemy, which is difficult to scan due to the distance of the satellite. Not only this, keeping an eye on any one area through satellites can also prove to be very expensive because it requires very expensive space launchers. Spy balloons, on the other hand, can do the same thing with satellites at a much lower cost.
Used since World War II?
The use of such spy balloons is not new. Spy balloons were first used at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794 against Austrian and Dutch troops during the French Revolution. They were also used during the American Civil War in the 1860s. Such balloons were widely used by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Then it was a low-cost way of gathering intelligence.
Their use has been going on since the Second World War. The Japanese army tried to bomb American territory through these balloons. Although their limited control capabilities did not cause much damage to US military targets, some bombs did fall into residential areas, resulting in the loss of many civilian lives.
Just after the end of World War, the US Army first started using them for espionage. Then it became part of America’s Project Genetrix, through which American security agencies conducted intelligence missions in many countries. According to government documents, the US also used these spy balloons to gather intelligence from the Soviet Union and its allies.
Why was America furious over China’s spy balloon?
According to the reports, China’s spy balloon was passing over the missile fields of Montana. Some important weapons of America are also kept in this area. However, the US says that the information gathered from the region is of limited value to China. But this kind of intrusion cannot be tolerated by any country.
Then why is America not shooting down the balloon?
Despite warning China, the US has decided not to shoot down the spy balloon. In fact, the US Defense Ministry- Pentagon says that the size of the balloon is equal to about three buses. There can be a lot of spy equipment and payload inside it. Since the balloon’s debris could fall on an American city if it is shot down, the military’s first priority is to remove it from American airspace. Apart from this, the reason for flying this balloon at such a height is not currently a threat to air traffic.
