Deploying a spy balloon over the United States was a conscious choice by China, thinks former MIVD counterintelligence and security chief Dick van den Berg. “All the ingredients for a spy mission are clearly present.”
It refers, among other things, to the factors that clearly distinguish the spy balloon from a possible weather balloon, which the Chinese initially adhered to. “You can clearly see from the structure that this is not a weather balloon,” says Van den Berg. ‘Also, it’s not just a hot air balloon that gets lost. So it must have happened on purpose, especially if you look at the height at which the ball was».
The balloon was in what is known as the jet stream, a high current of air that varied very slowly at the time and now moves from the northwest to the southeast of the United States. “And an object doesn’t end up there by accident,” according to Van den Berg.
Internal political problem
The balloon issue also causes considerable geopolitical friction, according to BNR foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg, although he has no doubts that US President Biden’s decision to have the balloon shot down was the right one. “He finally acted correctly, even if I thought it was with enormous violence,” says Hammelburg. But it’s not the first time this has happened. In previous governments, spy balloons also flew over, but the reason it’s become such a big thing now is because a citizen spotted the balloon.’
According to Hammelburg, with the shooting down of the balloon, Biden above all wanted to show that the Chinese would not get away with just this kind of antics. “And I think he was also under pressure from Republicans, who say it would never have happened under Trump.”
Republican opposition
And here the Republicans are wrong, says Hammelburg. It happened under Trump. “Three cases are known, although I think there were more,” she continues. “He too was aware of it and, as far as we know, he did not intervene. So they’ve fallen to their own knife in this regard, and that’s good for Biden.
Especially as we are on the eve of the annual State of the Union, underlines Hammelburg. “The more he weakens Republicans by any means, the better,” she says. «He He also used other arguments in a very tactical way. For example, the Pentagon advised him against shooting the balloon directly. I don’t think it went too badly for him at national level.”
“He Understood China”
Furthermore, Hammelburg thinks Biden has understood the Chinese motives. “The Chinese are eager to show how far their arm reaches,” she concludes. “Also because they hate that the United States has restored military relations with the Philippines, so there will be bases there again.”
Incidentally, there should be no misunderstandings about US tactics – they also fly over China with spy satellites. “In fact, $27 million in the US defense budget this year has been allocated to improve intelligence equipment,” says Hammelburg. “And that amount was set specifically to discover the new generation of hypersonic missiles.”
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
