Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard about the . “The balloon was to send a signal to the Americans, and also to see how the Americans would react.”
However, Johnson has a much more straightforward perspective.
“This was super dumb of the Chinese on the eve of a potentially important high-level negotiating session with the U.S. Secretary of State,” he said. “That’s why I’m speculating that a lower party official green-lit this misadventure as he or she tried cheaply to augment satellite intelligence.”
He added that it was particularly silly” because both Chinese and U.S. satellites are equipped with cameras that do more than enough to scan the ground, and they “really don’t gain much—if anything—added value from balloons.”
So while it might seem like the Chinese spy balloon incident has ended for now, the reality is the geopolitical consequences of this saga are still ongoing. There’s still a lot to be learned about what exactly the balloon was being used for and why exactly China sent it in such a brazen manner. Perhaps it’s fitting that the opening salvo of a new Cold War with China starts off, not with a bang, but with the popping of a balloon.
