Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. Robby Benson’s song “Blue Balloon” goes, “I have a blue balloon, a happy tune”. The United States was, however, not singing a happy tune when a balloon drifted into its airspace recently. What was dubbed a “Chinese spy balloon” by the US ended up scuppering US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China. There was much debate over whether the balloon – which an official said was “as big as three buses” – should be shot down. Initially, the military was against that course of action due to the risk the debris posed to civilians. Some in China, however, found it amusing that the United States, a military superpower, was hesitating to shoot down a balloon. While China might not care much about the loss of the balloon or Blinken’s visit being postponed, the US has lost a chance to discuss the Ukraine war, American detainees in China and other important issues. Randy Lee, Ma On Shan Balloon or other brinkmanship should be avoided The Chinese balloon saga is reminiscent of the U-2 crisis of 1960 when an American spy place was shot down over the Soviet Union. In 2019, the US military conducted wide-area surveillance across six Midwest states using high-altitude balloons. The solar-powered balloons drifted 250 miles, travelling in the stratosphere at altitudes of up to 65,000 feet. The Chinese balloon was at 60,000 feet. The Biden administration has said that Chinese surveillance balloons flew over the United States at least three times during the Trump presidency. The puzzling aspect of this whole fiasco is the use of balloons in our hi-tech era. Currently, there are over 5,000 active satellites in orbit, some circling the Earth every 90 minutes and hundreds of them for military use. The Union of Concerned Scientists put the number of US military satellites in 2022 at 237. A report by German news media outlet DW in 2020 said the Chinese military had 63 satellites in orbit, and Russia’s military had 71. The US tested Soviet resolve with the U-2 incident, the Soviets tested the US during the Cuban missile crisis, and China may be testing the US with the balloon crisis. However, powerful nations must refrain from acts of brinkmanship. Farouk Araie, Benoni, South Africa