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OPINION MARCH 03, 2023 | The Indian Eye 12

and military levels.
Fourth, the lack of transparency
on the Chinese part vis-à-vis the ac-
tors involved in the balloon episode
raises more questions rather than
giving answers. The US was quick
to sanction six Chinese aerospace
firms associated with the alleged spy
balloon programme. The US justi-
fied the move by alleging a threat to
national security. The Biden admin-
istration also alleged that the man-
ufacturer of the balloon had a close
relationship with the Chinese mili-
tary, and that surveillance balloons
were operated out of Hainan, the
southernmost province of China.
China opposed the sanctions
calling them “illegal” and “unilat-
eral”. Beijing claimed the US al-
legations were part of the broad-
er information warfare waged by
Washington. However, the Chinese
government had no answer to the
question about the entity the bal-
loon belonged to.
It evaded questions about the
flight path or the destination of the
balloon. Thus, the opacity about the
entire operation—whether the bal- China has exploited the discrepancy in international law vis-à-vis airspace sovereignty (File photo)
loon was operated by a private enti-
ty or a government entity, what kind claimed that Pentagon used high-al- ellites and drones. Balloons have entry into critical infrastructure. In
of data it was collecting—gives cre- titude balloons “to track hypersonic advantages over satellites. this regard, New Delhi has already
dence to the US operation to down strategic cruise missiles being devel- They can hover over a place for decided to become atmanirbhar,
the balloon. oped by China and Russia”. Thus, in a longer time and get clearer images and the country should redouble ef-
Moreover, Beijing has enact- a broader contest for dominance of due to their proximity to the ground. forts in that direction.
ed domestic laws to systematically the present world order, both coun- Thus, New Delhi should learn from Finally, the balloon episode has
access private-sector data, which tries are trying to score points by the US shortcomings and guard its highlighted that the US-led world
diminishes the difference between getting as many countries on their airspace—especially the near space order is being challenged by an
the government and private entities side as possible. between 20 km and 100 km—mi- emerging China. On the one hand,
being involved in the balloon saga. nutely. Beijing is trying to confine India to
Fifth, both the US and China Lessons for India Secondly, while the row is not the South Asian strategic box by pe-
have attempted to expand the scope Looking at the US–China bal- over, allegations are flying freely riodically resurrecting border issues
of the allegations to involve more loon row, New Delhi must draw its from both sides about surveillance and by helping its all-weather ally
countries in the controversy, thus lessons. The incident shows that the programmes being run by each oth- Pakistan.
taking the incident beyond the bi- significance of age-old methods like er over friends and enemies alike. On the other hand, for the past
lateral ambit. The US claimed that balloon surveillance has not been Thus, India should be extremely 30 years, the US-led order in the In-
China’s spy balloon programme was reduced in the era of high-tech sat- conservative while allowing foreign do-Pacific has benefitted India stra-
spread across five continents and tegically. Thus, going ahead, India
over 40 countries were the victim of should continue to make pragmatic
Chinese surveillance activities. choices in the pursuit of its national
The victims consisted of the interests.
close allies and partners of the US,
including those from the Indo-Pacif- Niranjan Chandrashekhar Oak is a
ic region. According to the reports, Research Analyst at Manohar Parri-
US Deputy Secretary of State Wen- kar Institute for Defense Studies and
dy Sherman briefed around 150 dip- Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi
lomats sharing information about Views expressed are of the author
China’s alleged surveillance balloon and do not necessarily reflect the
programme. views of the Manohar Parrrikar
Similarly, China took on the
US, alleging that since May 2022, IDSA or of the Government of India.
the US had flown multiple high-al- This article first appeared
titude balloons circling over the in the Comments section of the
globe. Going further, Beijing re- website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
minded the world how the US Na- The balloon episode has highlighted that the US-led world order is being challenged by an har Parrikar Institute for Defense
tional Security Agency had spied on emerging China (File photo) Studies and Analyses, New Delhi on
leaders of US allies and partners. It February 22, 2023

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