USA TODAY International Edition
Airspace invasions highlight security
Four unmanned aircraft have lawmakers talking
The takedown of four unmanned aircraft has raised new concerns about relations between the United States and China, with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers putting a new focus Sunday on national security.
“We’re going to have to begin to look at the United States airspace as one that we need to defend and that we need to have appropriate sensors to do so,” said Rep. Mike Turner, R- Ohio, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We certainly now ascertain there is a threat.”
On Sunday, the U. S. military shot down another unidentified flying object over Michigan. The shootdown occurred hours after airspace was temporarily closed over Lake Michigan by the Federal Aviation Administration and NORAD, and after lawmakers had made the rounds on the Sunday political talk shows.
“We’re going to have to begin to look at the United States airspace as one that we need to defend and that we need to have appropriate sensors to do so.” Rep. Mike Turner, R- Ohio, House Intelligence Committee chair
U. S. Air Force F- 16 fighter jets downed the object, according to a U. S. official who was not authorized to comment.
On Feb. 4, a U. S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the South Carolina coast. Less than a week later on Feb. 10, an unidentified object was shot down over Alaska. The next day, another unidentified object was shot down in northern Canada.
Late discovery of balloon program is ‘ wild,’ Schumer says
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D- N. Y., said on ABC’s “This Week” that “it is wild” that the U. S. did not learn of China’s balloon program “until a few months ago.”
Schumer said he was briefed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Saturday night regarding the aircraft, saying that the U. S. believes the two unidentified objects that were destroyed in recent days were also balloons, but that they were “much smaller” than the initial balloon shot down Feb. 4.
Rep. James Comer, R- Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, said he was “glad” to see a swift response from the White House, but told ABC’s “This Week” that “we’ve got a whole lot
bigger problem with China than the spy balloons,” saying the White House needs to be more “firm” against China.
Hours after the second aircraft was shot down, the Department of Commerce announced sanctions against six Chinese companies which it said were supporting China’s military aerospace programs.
“Today’s action demonstrates our concerted efforts to identify and disrupt the PRC’s use of surveillance balloons, which have violated the airspace of the United States and more than forty countries,” Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement, said in a statement.
Preferable to be ‘ trigger happy’
Lawmakers on Sunday also expressed concerns over the U. S. military’s protocol when unidentified objects are discovered.
When asked about whether the U. S. has changed its posture towards flying objects, Rep. Jim Himes, D- Conn., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said “I certainly hope not.”
“If that’s where we’re going to go, there will be an accident. At some point we’re going to shoot down something we don’t want to shoot down,” Himes said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Turner said the White House does “appear somewhat trigger happy, although this is certainly preferable to the permissive environment that they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of our most sensitive sites.”
Several lawmakers raised questions about the balloon’s flight path and whether it flew over sensitive military sites. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester noted on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the balloon flew over his home state of Montana, which houses 150 nuclear missiles.
Concerns about TikTok, foreign ownership of U. S. farmland
The discovery of the balloon and two other unidentified objects has raised concerns about other issues pertaining to China. Tester pointed out his own concerns over foreign, including Chinese, ownership of U. S. farmland.
“I don’t think they should have any opportunity to try to dictate our food supply,” said Tester, who introduced a bipartisan bill in January with Sen. Mike Rounds, R- S. D., aimed at preventing foreign companies from owning domestic farmland.
Schumer also suggested that Congress should take a closer look at TikTok, the social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, to which Comer agreed, citing worries over data collection.