Ex-spy chief warns balloon ‘gross transgression’ as US denies alien links
A former head of MI6 has warned of a “gross transgression” by the Chinese authorities in sending a spy balloon into US airspace and urged the UK to “wake up” to the threat posed.
Sir Alex Younger, who ran the UK’s foreign intelligence service from 2014 to 2020, told the BBC on 14 February that the West is “under [the] full press of Chinese espionage”.
It followed days of intrigue after the United States military shot down four objects – including a suspected Chinese spy balloon – in the past week, prompting conspiracy theories with world leaders forced to deny links to extraterrestrial activities or alien life.
His comments came as:
- Conservative Chinese sceptics mounted pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to declare the Asian nation a risk to the UK;
- Romanian air force jets were launched after an aerial object thought to be a weather balloon was sighted in the skies at a 11,000 metre altitude;
- Japan’s government concluded an airborne object spotted over the southwestern Kyushu region in January 2022 was “most likely” a Chinese spy balloon;
- Home secretary Suella Braverman reportedly urged police to ensure their use of Chinese drones, made by a firm blacklisted in the US on national security grounds, did not leave forces at risk of breaches;
- And US military officials confirmed they’d recovered debris including key sensors and electronic components from the balloon shot down near South Carolina last week.
Tory grandee Iain Duncan Smith called earlier this week for Xinjiang governor Erkin Tuniyaz to be arrested on arrival in the UK, after the United Nations warned crimes against humanity, genocide and human rights abuses were occurring in the region against the Ugyhur people.
MPs heard this week Tuniyaz was due to visit Britain and may meet foreign office officials.
The MP for Chingford and Woodford Green said: “We have got to start being much tougher on China, to say if you want to be part of the free market, if you want to be treated by the rest of the world as a partner then you have to start abiding by the standards, laws and responsibilities that come with that, including full human rights.”
Newspaper Japan Times reported fears within the country’s defence community that it may be difficult for the army to obtain permission and have the skills to shoot down spy balloons, after objects were seen floating above the Tohoku region in June 2020 and September 2021.
While two MiG 21 Lancer jets were scrambled in southeast Romania after a weather balloon was reported sighted on Tuesday, Reuters says, but were unable to locate the object.
Sir Alex said: “This balloon scenario demonstrates there is no trust… this is a gross and really visibly transgression of the sovereignty of many nations.
“We need to double down on the strengths that we possess to face this systemic competition that’s going on.”
Defence officials are reviewing the UK’s security arrangements after the incidents in the US, with Ben Wallace describing the saga as the “global threat picture changing for the worse”.
Sunak has said the government will do “whatever it takes” to keep the UK safe and highlighted the capabilities of RAF Typhoon jets kept on stand-by 24/7 to police our airspace.