For a reason, it is said that the most dangerous weapon in both national and global politics is to ridicule the opponent. utilizing a youth category, global trolling can permanently change the image of the world's largest power. This even applies to the erstwhile hegemon, as it turns out completely helpless against the trolling directed in Beijing.
Aerostat in fashion again
Big aerostatic, manned balloons, we associate invariably with blimps. The most celebrated of them, the German passenger "Hindenburg" burned in 1937. Previously, constructions of this kind were besides utilized in warfare, and rather effectively. With the tragedy of a blimp in fresh Jersey, it seemed that a certain era had ended.
Meanwhile, the aerostats inactive function, only in a newer, technologically advanced form. And it's not about the picturesque balloon competition. Many countries and investigation institutions present usage unmanned drifting aerostats, controlled from the ground like drones, capable of handling gigantic distances. They fly at advanced altitude, sometimes in the stratosphere, usually between 25 and 40 km above the ground. Consequently, they do not pose a threat to aircraft in the air corridors, which are usually about 10 km high.
And there's no way to get close adequate to shoot them down. At akin altitudes, only any reconnaissance aircraft, specified as the American Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, fly to a maximum of more than 36 km. So to destruct the aerostat, you gotta usage air-to-air missiles, but here's the problem. Firstly, balloons are not detectable for radar systems. Secondly, peculiar thermally guided rockets (for infrared radiation) are needed to shoot them down. That's what Russia has – they're R-73 missiles.
Airspace or space?
On 27 January, on the side of the Aleutów over Alaska, he appeared at a advanced tallness of large size aerostat. On January 30, he was already over Canada to spend another 5 days over the territory of the United States. The way of the flight was to have a peculiar one: among another things, he majestically drifted over silos with American atomic weapons in the state of Montana and Missouri. They say it's somewhere out there with base with intercontinental Minuteman missiles.
The second aerostat was seen in the Western hemisphere at the same time somewhat further south, over Venezuela. Both moved at an altitude of 35-40 km above the ground. It is worth noting that so far there has been no clear demarcation of airspace from space in global law. According to the global Aviation Federation (FAI), this border runs on the alleged Kármán line, which is about 100 km above sea level. However, there are also concepts that indicate that only the heights available to manned aircraft can be considered as airspace. In a word, no definitions, and the problem has been waiting for any regulation for decades.
Conflicting Versions
The Chinese Aerostat over the United States noted as the first passengers of an aircraft flying over Montana. The Pentagon later stated that he had everything under control and reflection from the very beginning. However, he did not act due to the fact that the large balloon posed no threat. The threat was to effort to shoot him down over inhabited areas; fragments and fragments of the aerostat could fall in the least anticipated place. That's why the administration Joe Bidena The balloon was only shot down after a fewer days erstwhile it was already over the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina. So he flew troubled over the full territory of the United States.
The Chinese aerostats did not renounce. The MFA there reported that it was an object from the People's Republic of China which, due to the strong wind, had strayed from the designated course and was located over North America. It's an accident at the aerostat, which was utilized to collect data for weather research. In this case, it is only amazing that accidents at work occurred in pairs, due to the fact that there were 2 aerostats, according to many reports.
Hegemon's Defenselessness
Aerostat, as mentioned, was shot down after a fewer days. It flew over the full practically United States territory. The administration hesitated not only for political but besides for method reasons. Finally, shooting down this kind of equipment, which only succeeded in the second attempt, costs a lot – about 0.5 million dollars. The Chinese expressed protest against the demolition of the balloon used, according to them, solely for peaceful investigation purposes.
American politics are already in the pre-election stage; electoral cycles beyond the ocean are short adequate to actually talk about a permanent run going on there. Toothlessness and indecisiveness – specified allegations towards the administration of the Biden politician came from Republicans. On Fox News and another sympathetic media, there were cold-blooded visions in the veins: the balloon surely had a spy mission that it successfully accomplished. And what would happen if he flew from Wuhan and sprayed another sinister virus? – others asked. And they all scolded that the White House's current tenant was incapable to warrant the Americans an simple sense of security.
Joe Tzu. Donald Trump Jr.'s entry about Joe Biden.The immediate shooting down of the aerostat publically demanded Donald Trump and Nikki Haley, both trying to make a Republican presidential candidate primary. The boy of the first ego was a peculiarly ironic. Donald Trump Junior. On social media, he compared Biden's "genius" to the meditations of an ancient Chinese sage Sun TsuAuthor Art of War. "Wait until your enemy's spy balloon completes its mission and then shoot it down. In addition, shoot him down over the waters besides deep to be able to get his wreck” – this, according to young Trump, is “the wisdom” of the strategy of the current tenant of the White House. Let us add that not so long ago the Chinese showed that their strategy is diametrically different in specified situations: On May 17, 2019, a rocket launched from a J-10C fighter jet shot down over continental terrain China American aerostat, as claimed by the spy. The Chinese side had plenty of time to analyse and examine its design.
Political dimension
Chinese trolling contributed not only to American pre-election debates. It besides influenced events and processes on a global scale. Aerostats appeared in the U.S. airspace (?) practically on the eve of the planned and announced visit of the Secretary of State for a long time, Antony Blinken Beijing. This was expected to be the first American-Chinese gathering at this level in six years. Blinken is recognised in Biden's administration as a pigeon, ready for dialog with the PRC. The Republicans did not neglect to callback that the President's son, Hunter BidenHe's got quite a few business with the Chinese. The anti-Chinese run of the American right started in full swing.
Therefore, the Secretary of State cancelled his journey to Beijing; however, it should not be delivered to the opponent of ammunition on the eve of the hard campaign. Blinken had an highly crucial mission in the mediate State. He was going to request from Xi Jinpinga and his people distance themselves from Russia, in practice abandoning their strategical alliance with Moscow. The mission ended before it started. But the Republican talker of the home of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy He's already going to Taiwan on April 16, following his predecessor's anti-Chinese footprints, Nancy Pelosi.
The balloon that strengthened the anti-hegemonic alliance
Regardless of who was behind Beijing's action (or possibly it was indeed a coincidence, cleverly post factum The winner in this situation is the Moscow-Pekin alliance, as the core of the emerging multipolar world, wishing to put an end to Anglo-Saxon global hegemony in the close future. On the Beijing-Washington line, both sides will harden their positions and their common relations will become even more tense. The erstwhile symbiotic concept of Chino-America will no longer be back. Moreover, there is no uniform view of Beijing in Biden's administration itself. Head of the CIA William Burns claims that the Chinese authorities have set themselves a affirmative nonsubjective to settle the Taiwanese issue by 2027. any of his actions seem to indicate that he would like to put an end to the Ukrainian war by then, to join the full steam to face the mediate State.
For the time being, however, it is at the best time to wander in the dark and without all the bustle of American abroad policy. And this will foster the strengthening of ties that American media have written about not so long ago. It turns out that the Chinese are being sanctioned by Russia's partners fearlessly and proceed to cooperate besides with the Russian defence industry. The Chinese state-owned Poly Technologies company supplies Russian M-17 combat helicopters with navigational systems. China Aviation Technologies supplies components utilized in Su-35 fighters. A Fujian Nanan Baofeng Electronic provides equipment for RB-531BE, Russian communications jamming kits.
Dragon's partnership with Bear continues. It will most likely be sealed again during Xi Jinping's spring gathering with Vladimir Putin Russia. Good for the multipolar world, wanting to break with the hegemonic order. And for the erstwhile hegemon the message brought by Chinese balloons is not the best. Reminds of what happened to the russian Union shortly after she landed in Red Square in 1987 with no problems with the pilot, Mathias Rustem.
Mateusz Piskorski
