Regardless of how and why a Chinese balloon ended up floating over the US, the incident could result in more sanctions being targeted at China.
As The Register reports, in a press briefing yesterday, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price responded to a question about China not being truthful about the function of the balloon and if countermeasures/sanctions were being considered. Price said:
"We’re exploring taking action against PRC entities linked to the PLA that supported the balloon’s incursion into U.S. airspace. We’ll look at continuing these broader efforts to expose and to address the PRC’s larger surveillance activities that pose a threat to our national security and that to our allies and partners as well."
The FBI is the lead governing agency for the forensic examination of the balloon, which was shot down by the US military on Feb. 5. For now, the majority of the balloon's payload remains underwater off the coast of South Carolina, which the US Navy and Coast Guard are hoping to rectify. Once recovered, an FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia will remove salt water from the "evidence" before it's processed. Top of the list of questions we would all like answering is, of course, what the balloon's real function was?
Based on Price's comments, any companies that have components contained in the payload are likely going to face sanctions of some kind. Although the majority of the components will probably be Chinese, there's a chance a few US companies could be embarrassed by this incident. China may be concerned if the payload contains one of its new Loongson chips.