Why Was the Chinese Balloon Allowed to Float for a Week in US Airspace?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns sovereignty. Each sovereign nation has the right, power, and authority to protect its sovereignty. The sovereignty of the United States has been invaded when approximately five million migrants crossed our southern border. Our air sovereignty was invaded about twelve days ago when a balloon from China entered our air space in Alaska, crossed Canada, and re-entered our air space before proceeding to cross our entire nation from Montana to South Carolina.

Government officials revealed on February 2 that China surveillance balloon was flying over the country. The balloon was shot down two days later off the coast of South Carolina when an Air Force fighter jet fired a missile at it.

A Senate subcommittee held a hearing on the Chinese spy balloon today, the same day that the House of Representatives voted unanimously to condemn China’s infiltration of U.S airspace. A classified hearing was later held in the Senate behind closed doors to talk with military personnel about more sensitive details.

Samantha Aschieris at The Daily Signal wrote about five questions that senators asked and Pentagon officials answered. 

1. Why Not Shoot It Down Earlier?

“If you had the opportunity to shoot the Chinese spy balloon down either over the remote mountains of Alaska or over waters near Alaska, why didn’t you?” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., asked Army Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, operations director for the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. “Why is it OK to have the Chinese fly some type of aircraft over Alaskan airspace?

As far as shooting down the balloon over water off Alaska, Sims replied that in the assessment of Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, “there was no hostile act, hostile intent, or potential impact to critical intelligence capabilities.” …

As for shooting down the spy balloon over Alaska itself, the Army general continued, the military was unable to “work our way to a near zero probability of collateral damage when we take that shot.”

[I have flown over a small part of Alaska and have seen vast amounts of land where there is no civilization. However, it would be a cold recovery of the balloon if it were shot down over icy water or snow-covered mountains.]

2. Why Not Capture It Intact?

“Could that balloon not be forced down some way other than shooting it down?” Hoeven asked Sims.

“Obviously, we have aircraft that can exceed that altitude,” the North Dakota Republican said. “Answer that – just the final question: Couldn’t that have been forced down some way rather than shooting it down, which would have, in a lot of ways, been better? You avoid the risk to people on the ground, and you get it intact.”

Sims replied: “We didn’t have the ability to capture the balloon or bring the balloon down with a particular munition that we thought would make it less dangerous. And, quite frankly, we didn’t know where it would go if we were to somehow  impact its flight path at that point in terms of our ability to control it, what it would do if it hit the ground. But that’s a great question, sure, and … we’ll address that greater in the next [closed-door] session.”

3. When Was Balloon Threat Determined?

When did the military “determine the threat” posed by the balloon, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asked, “and did you have constant surveillance for the entire time it was in the U.S. and Canadian airspace?”

Melissa Dalton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, answered Murray.

“On Saturday, Jan. 28, we tracked through NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] that the balloon was entering [the] U.S. Air Defense Identification Zone in U.S. airspace in Alaska, and from there, NORAD had custody and we were tracking it across the …..,” Dalton began, before Murray interrupted to ask again whether the military had “constant surveillance the entire time of the balloon.”

“Yes, Senator,” Dalton responded.

The Chinese balloon first was detected Jan. 31 flying over the continental U.S. in northern Idaho, Politico reported.

4. Did China Plan This, or Was It an Error?

Sen. Jon Tester, R-Mont., asked whether the balloon was “an error by the Chinese government, or was this planned?”

Jedidiah Royal, principal deputy assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, replied.

“Senator, we’re continuing to make assessments on the Chinese intent for this specific operation, and we’ll have further to share in a classified setting along with specific intent,” Royal said. “I think it would be false to try to characterize this operation as purely a mistake.” …

5. ‘Who Got the Most Information Out of This?”

Tester had a follow-up question.

“So, generally speaking, as this balloon went over Alaska, Canada, and the United States, who got the most information out of this: the Chinese or us?” Tester asked Royal.

“Sir, I don’t have a judgment or evaluation to pass along those lines for you right now. I do believe that the United States’ collection on this particular balloon and on the brother program is ongoing and is significant,” Royal said….