 "IAF downs Chinese spy balloon: What is China up to and what is India doing?")
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reportedly alerted the government about the presence of Chinese spy balloons in Indian skies.
One such balloon, hovering at an altitude of nearly 55,000 feet, was recently shot down by an IAF combat aircraft on the eastern front near China, The Tribune reported on Monday.
An IAF Rafale aircraft, based out of Hasimara in northern West Bengal, was reportedly deployed to destroy the spy balloon, which was carrying a payload. The Rafale jet used one of its missiles to accomplish the task.
What is India doing to deal with Chinese spy balloons?
According to the report, a standard operating procedure is now being formulated to address similar threats in the future.
While another Chinese balloon was also spotted over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, it was not shot down by Indian forces.
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The Tribune report added that the IAF has also held discussions with its counterparts in the United States (US) regarding the issue.
What are these Chinese spy balloons doing?
In 2023, the US also encountered similar spy balloons launched by China. The US military even shot one down in February that year.
A report from the US Department of Defense (DOD), titled 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2023', had also highlighted this threat. "Military and commercial entities in China have been researching and developing high-altitude systems, including high-altitude balloons, since at least the mid-2000s," the report said.
The US authorities also believe that these balloons are steerable.
Meanwhile, Chinese military publications have also discussed the use of high-altitude systems for tracking and targeting.
The US DOD report had also said, "The high-altitude balloon shot down on February 4, 2023 (in the US), was developed as part of this broader military-linked aerial surveillance programme."
In February of 2023, a US military fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, a week after it entered US airspace.
The balloon's takedown was reportedly ordered by US President Joe Biden himself.
While several US fighter and refuelling aircraft were involved in the operation, the balloon was taken down by a F-22 fighter jet using a single missile, much like in the case of the IAF Rafale that took down a similar threat recently.
China had condemned the shooting down of the balloon, asserting that the airship was for meteorological and scientific purposes and had "unintentionally" entered US airspace. However, these claims by Beijing were rejected by US officials.
The incident led to escalating tensions between the US and China, including a sharp exchange just days later involving US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, at a security conference in Munich.
Blinken reportedly stated that the US would not "stand for any violation of our sovereignty" and warned that "this irresponsible act must never again occur". Meanwhile, Wang dismissed the episode as a "political farce manufactured by the US".
While China continued to deny launching a spy balloon to snoop on the US, the latter claimed that Chinese military balloons had crossed the airspace of more than 40 countries across five continents.
Shortly after the US takedown, Japan also announced that after re-analysing past cases of unidentified flying objects, it "strongly" suspected that China had flown at least three spy balloons over its territory since 2019.
According to a Financial Times article from that period, unnamed Taiwanese officials also said that the island, which is claimed by China, had been surveilled by dozens of Chinese military balloons.