‘Strong dissatisfaction’: China’s fury over US shooting down balloon

Relations between the two superpowers plummet after the US military shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon in the sky over Billings, Montana. Picture: AFP

Relations between the world’s two superpowers have hit their lowest point since Joe Biden ­entered the White House, after the US military on Sunday shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Destruction of the balloon prompted a furious reaction from Beijing, which said it ­reserved the right “to make further necessary responses”.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on Sunday condemned the use of the spy balloon, as foreign policy experts warned that China might already be using similar espionage tactics against Australia without the public’s knowledge.

Mr Biden, who had faced criticism from some Republicans including former president ­Donald Trump for not shooting down the balloon earlier, ­ ignored questions from reporters about impli­cations of the downing for already fraught relations between Washington and Beijing.

“I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down, on Wednesday, as soon as possible,” the President said. “They decided that the best time to do that was when it got over water,” he added, congratulating the “aviators who did it”.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a planned trip to China on Friday (Saturday AEDT) after the balloon’s discovery, telling Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, the incident was “a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law”.

“China’s decision to take this action on the eve of my planned visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have,” Mr Blinken said on Friday.

China’s Foreign Minister in a statement released late on Saturday accused the US of “clearly overreacting and seriously ­violating international practice” after a missile from a fighter jet destroyed the balloon, which had been traversing the US from the northwest to the southeast, off the coast of Myrtle Beach.

On Sunday, a spokeswoman for Mr Marles, who has been ­visiting Washington for talks with defence officials, said China’s actions were “inconsistent” with inter­national rules.

“This expectation (to follow global norms) is no different in airspace than it is for activities at sea or on the ground,” she said.

“The operation of high-­altitude balloons must occur in ­accordance with international rules, including those stipulated by the Inter­national Civil Aviation Organisation.”

She said there were “questions” associated with the presence of a Chinese aircraft in US sovereign airspace, “which is inconsistent with China’s stated commitment to these rules and laws”.

The debris from the balloon, which had been hovering at a height of 18km, fell in relatively shallow water about 14m deep and was spread out over at least 11km, according to US defence officials, who said an attempt to recover as much of the balloon as possible was under way.

“China expresses strong dis­satisfaction and protests against the use of force by the US to attack the unmanned civilian airship,” China’s foreign ministry said.

The balloon’s discovery and ­destruction will stymie US efforts to seek rapprochement with Beijing over longstanding disagreements such as Taiwan’s independence, Russia’s war in Ukraine and trade disputes ongoing since Mr Trump’s presidency.

Former executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute Peter Jennings said a spy balloon being deployed over Australia could “definitely happen”.

“There’s no limits to where this technology could be used,” he said.

“I think what we’re looking at here is new technology the Chinese are trialling … that means we should be on the lookout as well.”

Senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Euan Graham said “you can’t be 100 per cent sure this hasn’t happened in Australia” but he disagreed that China might retaliate to the shooting down of its spy balloon by targeting Australia as a US ally. “There’s no doubt this is a hostile act,” he said “It also points out the clear double standard and Australia and others should make clear that double standard.”

The Chinese balloon was part of “the largest intelligence operation in the history of the human race” against the US and Australia, Douglas Wise, a former deputy ­director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, told The Australian.

China already sees itself “at war” with the US and Australia “even if we don’t”, he added, dismissing Beijing’s claim that the balloon was a civilian weather aircraft that had drifted off course.

“What they did with the balloon is provocative (and) not worth the intel value; there has to be other value to it,” Mr Wise speculated, suggesting the Chinese could have been testing “a potential weapons delivery or advanced sensor systems”.

Mr Wise, who spent decades in the CIA and DIA before retiring in 2016, said Australia “should be ­seriously concerned (about China’s intelligence gathering efforts)”.

“Given the scale, intensity, and magnitude of the Chinese intelligence operation against Australia and the US, we must be extra vigilant and work as hard as we can to penetrate and gain insight and into the details of that,” he said.

“The Chinese have patience, that is unlimited … they are dangerous because they don’t have accountability and they don’t operate under rule of law or a moral frame of reference”.

US authorities had earlier shut down airports and the airspace above North and South Carolina on Saturday where the balloon, which authorities had determined was “manoeuvrable”, had travelled, fuelling speculation that the US was preparing to shoot down the device.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated on Saturday that authorities had waited until the balloon was over the ocean before shooting it down so as to avoid “undue risk to people across a wide area”.