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Clearness and swift action were required for China to boldly fly a reconnaissance balloon over American airspace, but what it received from the Biden administration was confusion and delay in action. This is sending the very wrong message to the American people and the world. That China thought it could fly surveillance balloons into American airspace says everything Beijing needs to know about what it thinks of America’s resolve and where it sees itself on the international stage. None of this is good for America now or in the future.
The Chinese government would never have taken such provocative actions if it believed there were real risks or serious consequences. Violating our airspace is not the same as sailing spy ships on the high seas that the Russians were recently found to be doing off Hawaii. It is an infringement and should not be tolerated.
President Xi Jinping wants to assert his country’s rightful status as a world leader. This means striving to undermine America’s standing and global leadership, strengthen its military and deploy it farther afield. China is committed to modernizing its nuclear arsenal, developing and deploying next-generation weapons, expanding its navy, and securing bases around the world. The risk of confrontation with Beijing is real, and rather than mitigate the risk from a position of power, successive White Houses have shown weakness toward China by acting belatedly or not at all. .
Allowing these balloons to pass through our territory is a sign of weakness and gives Beijing an excellent opportunity to gather intelligence and map our capabilities. No one knows how much classified information has been sent to Beijing and is now being meticulously sifted by the Chinese Communist Party.
Possible debris from Chinese spy flight found in Carolina, police ask residents to report details
Our country’s handling of this crisis, and China’s claim, should concern Americans. It is neither decisive nor deliberately suppressed, but laziness, panic, indecision, and a hodgepodge of confused signals show just how poor our country’s decision-making towards China is. It was after a significant delay in the downing of this latest balloon, recording the country’s justifiable anger, where decisive action should have been taken. Where the country should have been reassured by the White House, it received a hodgepodge of mixed messages and dithering. I can’t stay
Shooting down the balloon should have been the president’s first move, not something he hesitated to do. It would have sent a signal that Washington could act decisively. The cancellation of Secretary of State Anthony Brinken’s visit to Beijing was neither definitive nor intentional. That was the bare minimum the White House expected, and what China almost certainly expected.
File photo: A jet plane flies past a suspected Chinese spy balloon at Surfside Beach, South Carolina, USA, on February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Randall Hill/File Photo
If this is how the White House treats surveillance balloons, I shudder to think of what could happen when a real crisis with China strikes. How did this White House react when a Chinese fighter plane collided with an American spy plane (which was in international airspace) in 2001? , how would the White House have dealt with it? How would President Biden deal with China’s invasion of Taiwan?
Americans need to be strong at home and abroad. At home, Biden needs to reassure Americans that the White House, the Pentagon, and all elements of the federal government are ready to defend our homeland. Both are a threat to humans, and if one can pass airspace, the other cannot do the same?
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This administration should use this crisis as a clear call to recognize the challenges facing China. Rally the nation and focus its attention. Balloons are not the only threat from China.
TikTok and extensive data collection on Americans. It is Beijing’s effort to develop an alternative currency to the US dollar to undermine the strength of our financial system. It is China’s bullying of its neighbors and intimidation of its allies. It is an effort by the Chinese Communist Party to control international institutions and ensure policies that favor authoritarian regimes. It is the country’s manipulation of supply chains and ambitions that ensure that “Made in China” is the only option available to American consumers. needs leadership.
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In doing so, we can better align our focus and priorities, reassure our allies, and show Beijing our strength and resolve. These are urgently needed now and in the future.
The country and the world need clarity and leadership over China, but they have neither at the moment. It shows how the regime is not bound by the danger of the situation.
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