Americans may not have to worry about the aliens – as National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called on them to do on Monday, after the army shot down three unidentified flying objects – but for an escalation of tension between the United States and China that already seems unstoppable.
This same Tuesday, Kirby explained that nothing indicates –“for now”– That the artifacts are related to the Asian giant. Actually, the thesis that is gaining strength is the one that points out that it is “entities used for commercial or research purposes, totally harmless”. However, they are not neither aliens nor chinese It almost seems unimportant.
The accusations of espionage that Washington has leveled at Beijing after the penetration of a balloon into US airspace last week have unleashed the fury of the Chinese government, which has described its rival as “the largest empire of espionage, habitual crime and world surveillance”.
[Así es como EEUU localiza OVNIS: avanzados aviones espía, potentes radares y un arsenal de satélites]
This exchange of accusations of espionage, to which are added the sanctions imposed by one and the other, and the spiral of threats that dominates bilateral relations contrast with the image of détente projected by both leaders, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, at the G20 summit in Bali. But it is not only that: they also raise fears of the outbreak of a new Cold War between two powers vying for global hegemony. And, again, its effects shake the whole international board.
At the beginning of the week, in full “spy balloon crisis”Philippines accused China of aiming a laser “probably for military use” to one of their ships and blinding the crew for “about ten seconds”, which had to interrupt the troop supply mission it was conducting in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
WATCH: In an act of “blatant disregard” of the Philippine sovereign rights, the Philippine Coast Guard shares video of Chinese Coast Guard vessel pointing “military grade” laser towards PCG vessel, causing “temporary blindness” of its crew. | @JEMendozaINQ pic.twitter.com/u2GdTd9rwg
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) February 13, 2023
“This is the first time that Chinese ships have used this method of harassment” against the Philippine military, Coast Guard spokesman Armand Balilo told the news agency. efe. Specifically, the incident took place near Second Thomas Shoala submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, claimed as their own by both Manila and Beijing.
In addition, it occurred on February 6, just a few days after the US signed with the Philippines an extension of its defense pact which allows US troops to access four more military bases in strategic areas of the Southeast Asian country.
How could it be otherwise, Xi’s government views this movement with concern, which aims to counteract the growing Chinese military influence in the region, especially after the Taiwan crisis that broke out in August. “US actions increase regional tension and undermine peace and stability,” denounced the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines after the signing of the agreement.
[Ben Macintyre: “El final de Putin, si llega, será a través del espionaje”]
Russia, the third (nuclear) player
In this clash between powers, Russia inevitably comes into play, which shares an “unlimited friendship” with China and the narrative it describes a US-dominated world order. Likewise, his invasion of Ukraine has also raised the specter of a new Cold War.
Not only because the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has accused the West of starting a conflict of these characteristics with the sanctions imposed against its economybut because it has resurrected the nuclear threat over and over again. His latest tease? The deployment of tactical ships equipped with atomic weapons in the Baltic Sea, according to the Norwegian Intelligence Service in your annual report.
This is an unprecedented milestone in three decades. And it is that despite the fact that during the Cold War the ships of the Northern Fleet they went out to sea with nuclear missiles on a regular basis to show the weapons potential of the Soviet Union, this is the first time the Russian Federation has done so.
[Putin invadió Ucrania y cambió el mundo: la guerra que ha obligado a la UE a reinventarse]
“The nuclear part is in the submarines and surface ships of the Northern Fleet,” says Norwegian intelligence, which does not rule out an escalation from a localized war like Ukraine towards a broader conflict involving the United States and NATO. These weapons “are a particularly serious threat in several operational scenarios in which Alliance countries may be involved,” the report says.
Likewise, the Nordic agency contemplates that Russia maintains, modernizes and develops its nuclear arsenal, although it does not expect it to apply significant changes in the russian nuclear doctrine in the next years.
