My Take | How a Chinese balloon squeezes out so much American hot air
- The whole diplomatic imbroglio would have been better than satire out of Hollywood if it was not being exploited by US bent on sabre-rattling
After defending America’s sacred air space, now comes retribution. Washington is reportedly preparing to sanction the Chinese mainland company that made the suspected spy balloon which threatened to invade America.
Parents beware! Next time you buy balloons for your children’s parties, make sure they are not made by companies with illicit ties to the Chinese military, otherwise you may be subject to secondary sanctions.
The dastardly device that had been terrorising America from Alaska to South Carolina for days was brought to a violent end, demonstrating, once again, the invincibility of the United States air defence.
An F-22 fighter jet, one of history’s most expensive aircraft that has rarely seen action, was dispatched to shoot down the balloon with an air-to-air missile worth upwards of US$600,000 – after a mid-air refuelling and accompanied by a second F-22. You almost expected Tom Cruise to be sitting in the other fighter plane filming the whole dogfight sequence in 3D IMAX.
But if you thought that was the end of the matter, well, not quite. In addition to expected sanctions, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously yesterday to condemn China over the balloon. Take that, Beijing!
After elite military divers retrieved the debris in the Atlantic Ocean with a full press junket mired in seasickness tagging along, the Pentagon and the State Department concluded that it was unmistakably a spy satellite.
Investigators concluded that the balloon, upgraded to an “unmanned airship” in the latest New York Times report, carried antennas that could intercept telecommunications and were incompatible with equipment normally carried by a weather balloon, as the Chinese claimed it was. A military adviser added, “Data that the balloons can gather about humidity and air currents may be militarily useful.” So, weather research or not, it could still be weaponised. Well, in the right hands, even chopsticks can be used as a lethal weapon.