The next balloon-type crisis will be harder to deflate

In his State of the Union address, President Biden alluded to the Chinese spy balloon incident in a single line that suggested an effort to contain the spillover from that episode. For its part, the Beijing government also seems to have tried to downplay it, expressing regret initially and using its censorship of media and social media to tamp down the flames of Chinese nationalism.

In the last such crisis, the Chinese government seemed to encourage anti-Americanism in its media. In 2001, a U.S. spy plane collided with a Chinese jet fighter, killing the Chinese pilot and forcing the U.S. plane to land on Hainan Island, where Chinese authorities took the crew into custody. After 11 tense days, the United States issued a letter of regret, which the Chinese characterized as an apology. Beijing then released the Americans. It is difficult to imagine an incident such as that one getting resolved so quickly and easily today.

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