US-China relations unlikely to be derailed by balloon row ‘blip’: Singapore’s George Yeo

Yeo says the row is ‘a surface wound’ that will heal in a few months, adding that even while US-China ties have been strained, trade has continued growing

Still, China’s takeaway from the balloon incident is that the ‘fraught mood’ and emotional reaction in the US can affect foreign policy, Yeo notes

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Yeo expressed scepticism that the Chinese balloon was an orchestrated spying operation to send a signal to the US. Photo: SCMP

Published: 7:07pm, 13 Feb 2023Updated: 7:20pm, 13 Feb 2023

Former Singapore foreign minister George Yeo said the current US-China tensions over the shootdown of a Chinese balloon earlier this month would ease in time and was unlikely to derail the understanding reached between the two countries’ leaders.

Expressing scepticism that the Chinese balloon was an orchestrated spying operation to send a signal to the US, Yeo described the incident as “a blip in bilateral relations which will – pardon the pun – blow over eventually”.

“Maybe the Chinese were trying their luck, and occasionally have one or two stray off course, and if they pick up something, well, it’s a bonus,” said Yeo, currently a visiting scholar at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting on November 14, 2022, in Bali. Photo: AP

He added that the “common understanding” reached by US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last November on the sidelines of the G20 summit likely remained unchanged.

Xi and Biden in Bali agreed to reinstate channels for diplomatic dialogue and form working groups to engage on specific issues of mutual concern, even as both compete for global influence amid increasing economic and security tensions.

Last Monday, Biden said US-China relations were not weakened as Washington had made it clear to Beijing that it would destroy the balloon, adding that China understood its position.

On February 4, the US military shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon off South Carolina after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China has insisted the incident was a mishap.