WASHINGTON. Yesterday in Washington, the course of a Chinese balloon, allegedly suspected of spying for the Chinese, was observed with concern in American airspace. China was initially reluctant to investigate the matter, but called for calm at a time when relations between the two countries are already strained. Shortly after, he said he was on a “mainly meteorological mission,” but the fact that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken postponed his trip to China scheduled for this weekend shows that Washington is taking the episode seriously. The Pentagon decided not to shoot down a balloon flying over potentially vulnerable areas because of fears that people could be injured if it fell. According to the New York Times, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin spoke to top officials while in the Philippines and the president was briefed and asked “about military decisions.” It is worth noting that the balloon was located in the state of Montana, where there are 150 warehouses of intercontinental missiles.

Timing complicates matters as Blinken was scheduled to travel to Beijing over the weekend to meet with President Xi Jinping. The US Secretary of State will be tasked with top US administration official Joe Biden to visit China if he finally goes ahead with his original plans. “The Chinese side apologizes for the balloon’s entry into American airspace,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement, which attributed the incident to “force majeure.” Spy balloons usually have a piece of equipment, eg. a camera mounted on a balloon and carried by air currents. The equipment may also include radar and be powered by solar energy. Typically, such balloons fly at an altitude of 24,000–37,000 meters, which is much higher than that of aircraft that do not exceed 12,000 meters.

Experts think it’s impossible that the Chinese didn’t expect the balloon to be discovered, and that was probably their goal: to embarrass the US, and if they manage to gather some information, even better. However, compared to other tools at the disposal of Beijing and the Chinese military, the role of the spy balloon in collecting classified material is rather limited. According to experts, spy and military satellites are much more important and effective for monitoring the US.

Recall that on Thursday the United States announced the expansion of its military presence in the Philippines. But this balloon mission shows that even as Chinese President Xi tries to improve relations with Washington and rhetoric softens, Beijing has no real interest in restraint or healing wounds in bilateral relations, Western analysts say.