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Dispute over US response to Chinese spy balloon sparks criticism and concern
A dispute among top military officials over why the US did not shoot down a Chinese spy balloon as soon as it appeared on radar has come to light.
The argument hinges on when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sought military advice from US Northern Command head Gen. Glen VanHerck on the best way to handle the balloon.
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The Republican Party is highlighting discrepancies between the two men’s accounts of events, using the rift to fault the administration for what they say has been a series of missteps that led to the debacle.
Some Republican senators also used the recent hearing to blame the Biden administration for mishandling the crisis, with some accusing Austin and President Joe Biden of delaying action.
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The decision to allow the balloon to continue its trek has been criticized by Republican and even some Democratic lawmakers, who claims it showed weakness to China.
On Jan. 27, VanHerck spoke with Gen. Mark Milley, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about his plan to send armed fighter jets to intercept the object the next day.
But given that it did not display “hostile intent,” he did not have the legal authority to shoot it down, he explained to senators; that rested with Biden or Austin. Northern Command, working with the intelligence community, put together a prediction of the balloon’s route, but at the time they did not believe it would travel across the entirety of the continental United States.
According to a Department of Defense (DoD) official, VanHerck officially notified Milley and Austin on 28 January that the balloon had entered US airspace, and he tasked his team with developing options to take out the balloon if the president or defense secretary chose to do so.
Austin did not ask VanHerck for his recommendation until 7 a.m. on 1 February. At that point, the general advised the secretary not to shoot it down because it was flying over land and there was a significant risk of damage to civilians in the event of a crash. VanHerck instead recommended waiting until the balloon was over water to take it out.
Austin’s office stated that the secretary had expected VanHerck and other military leaders to continuously provide recommendations, and that VanHerck had done so throughout the crisis.
The situation has led to criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, with some suggesting that the decision not to shoot down the balloon and allowing it to continue its trek was an embarrassment to the US. The incident also highlights concerns about China’s surveillance capabilities, which have grown in recent years.
The Pentagon has now released new details of the timeline of events. A DoD official said that intelligence officials did not immediately convey a sense of alarm as they had briefed Northern Command on the Chinese surveillance balloon program a few months earlier. However, it was the first time they had detected such.
