Bursting Beijing’s balloon: what’s behind US response?

Incident triggered cancellation of US Secretary of State’s visit to China

A big white balloon is pictured flying above Charlotte, North Carolina
The balloon was shot down by a US fighter jet on 4 February
(Image credit: Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

On Saturday afternoon, six miles off the coast of South Carolina, a US F-22 fighter jet fired a Sidewinder air-to-air missile that blew a massive Chinese balloon out of the sky.

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Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.