Tensions will linger over a Chinese balloon downed by America
Much will depend on what American officials learn from the debris and what they decide to reveal
THE PRECISE purpose of the Chinese balloon that drifted across America, kiboshing a brief detente in the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship, has yet to be proven. But troubling answers may soon emerge from the Atlantic. US Navy divers have already started retrieving debris from the airship, which was shot down by an American F-22 fighter jet off South Carolina on February 4th. The divers aim to complete their work within days.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “An eye for an eye?”
From the February 11th 2023 edition
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