Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: China may respond to the United States (US) shooting down its suspected surveillance balloon after warning of severe repercussions, but defense pundits say any move could be finely calibrated to keep from worsening relations that both sides have been trying to repair.
Diplomats and analysts are keenly watching China’s response after a US fighter jet hit the balloon in the Atlantic sea off South Carolina on Saturday, which Xi Jinping administration says was an errant weather-monitoring craft.
China on Sunday strongly condemned the attack as a US overreaction, saying it can use the necessary means to deal with similar situations.
Some experts said they would scrutinize East Asia’s skies and seas for signs of tension, given the growing deployments of aircraft and ships from China, US, and its allies.
But while tension between the two superpowers has increased in the past few days over the spy balloon incident, Beijing and Washington have been trying to improve relations.
The discovery of the balloon in North American skies prompted the US to postpone Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing this week.
Both sides are widely seen as trying to stabilize ties after a tough few years.
Zhao Tong, the senior research fellow of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s China office, said that rebuilding U.S.-China ties possibly remains on track.
He said that the two counties still have a common strong interest in stabilizing and managing the bilateral relationship responsibly.
China to retaliate against US military surveillance patrols
Another expert, Collin Koh of Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that China would continue to retaliate against US military surveillance patrols but would not opt for confrontation.
He said that even in calmer times, Chinese troops actively shadow U.S. military patrols, especially at sea, amid tensions in the disputed South China Sea and over Taiwan.
He added that it is expected that China would show restraint, but it would become uncertain against unmanned platforms.
