Japan mulls policy to shoot down China’s spy balloons
Joel Gehrke
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Japanese defense officials are “reviewing the rules for the use of weapons” in light of alleged violations of Japan’s airspace by China’s spy balloon program, according to reports.
“It’s a problem that we have not been able to identify the balloons as Chinese balloons until now,” said senior Japanese lawmaker Itsunori Onodera, a former defense minister who leads a security commission. “It’s even more of a problem if we had known about it and did not protest. It leads one to worry that there is a hole in Japan’s defense.”
Japan’s military operates under restrictive regulations about the use of force, but the spectacle of an apparent Chinese spy balloon over the United States in early February prompted a reappraisal of mysterious objects previously detected over Japan. The ensuing outcry has irritated Beijing, where Chinese officials have denied operating a program and accused their neighbors of choosing to echo U.S. criticisms for no good reason.
“The Japanese side, without any solid evidence, has made unfounded allegations to smear and attack China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin insisted on Wednesday. “Japan should adopt an objective and just position … and stop following the U.S.’s suit in dramatizing it.”
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Japan’s Defense Ministry blamed China for the presence of three different objects in Japanese airspace since 2019, an allegation that has reinforced U.S. claims that the balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina was part of a global Chinese surveillance program.
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo discussed “the presence of PRC surveillance balloons over both Japan and the United States in recent years” with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman during a Tuesday meeting in Washington, according to a State Department summary of the conversation.
“We have discussed our profound concerns with a number of countries, including a number of countries in the Indo‑Pacific region, regarding the program of which the high-altitude surveillance balloon that we detected and ultimately disabled last week was a part,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday. “These are conversations that we’re having with countries around the world, countries that may have been subjected to this. It’s part of our broader effort to share what we know about the challenges both systemic [and] tactical that the PRC poses to the vision we share with our allies and partners around the world.”
President Joe Biden‘s authorized the downing of several other objects that have been detected in North American airspace over the last week. Those objects have not been identified as Chinese assets, but they operated at altitudes within range of civilian passenger jets.
“There was a very real potential risk to civilian air traffic,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday afternoon. “The second purpose … was even though we had no indications that any of these three objects were surveilling, we couldn’t rule that out.”
Japanese officials could begin to target such balloons by expanding their definition of the “necessary measures” for protecting their security.
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“As for foreign balloons that intrude into Japan’s airspace without permission, in general terms, necessary measures may be taken when deemed appropriate to protect the lives and property of citizens,” Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Tuesday.