Recently, there are many ongoing debates about the potential cold war between two superpowers, the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. However, public opinion is inclined toward China. They say the recently increased tension was due to the U.S. shooting down a Chinese research balloon flying over the U.S. airspace, and such an overreaction is absurd and hysterical. Nevertheless, the U.S. shooting down the Chinese balloon was completely justifiable as it was to ease its citizens’ nervousness, prevent intelligence leakage, and take a superior political stance.

The U.S. had no better choice than shooting it down since the balloon was a fearsome existence for Americans. The balloon’s exceeding capabilities relative to other research balloons and its payload about the size of a regional jet created many speculations about what it is; most were associated with privacy concerns and violence.

For years, Americans were very sensitive to privacy as they are tracked everywhere: by their phones, facial recognition systems, and over 50 million security cameras. Therefore, 63% of respondents in a poll by Bloomberg chose ‘providing greater privacy protections’ as a priority for Congress. Adding fuel to the fire, the balloon’s potential surveillance intensified the anger of the U.S. citizens as their personal information could be obtained by a foreign country.

Moreover, influential people such as a Fox News host and Former House Speaker alleged that the balloon is carrying bioweapons and electromagnetic pulse weapons. The Americans were frightened that a fatal weapon was hovering over their heads.

With all the worries and anxieties of its citizens, the U.S. had to cope with the balloon in order to ease its citizens. Thus, directly eliminating the dangerous factor or shooting it down was the best choice for the U.S.

When more information came out about the balloon, the country’s confidentiality was endangered. The balloon was for surveillance. While it flew across very sensitive military sites, the balloon with intelligence-gathering sensors “was capable of collecting signals intelligence and taking photos,” the U.S. officials said.

There was a high possibility that the government’s confidential intelligence was obtained by China. The secretary of State, Blinken said, “What we saw when it was over the United States was clearly an attempt to surveil very sensitive military sites.”

While no one knows how much data they obtained and how they will take advantage of the obtained information, the leakage of military sites could be a direct threat to the country’s security and sovereignty. Therefore, the U.S. cannot let the balloon gather more information while putting itself in danger.

Besides confidentiality, the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon to take a higher political position. The U.S. and China are the current biggest countries in the world in terms of population, economy, and military. As China develops exponentially and threatens the U.S.’s world’s leading position, the U.S. wants to keep China in check to repress them and maintain its superiority.

As their relationship is the most major issue in the world, the balloon incident gained lots of attention. It was the opportunity for the U.S. to show the globe that China cannot directly threaten its mainland. By shooting missiles at balloons and publicly denouncing China for illegal spying, they could solidify their superiority as well as create an unfavorable reputation for China.

Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for the U.S. to let the rival spy since it will be the same as showing two things to the world: the U.S. could not detect China’s spy program, and China can directly threaten the U.S. The Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said, “We should not have let the People’s Republic of China make a mockery of our airspace.” As such, The U.S. had to shoot it down.

In conclusion, the U.S. did the right thing in dealing with the Chinese surveillance balloon due to three factors: reassure its citizens, protect confidentiality, and take a better political stance. There were several speculations about the balloon in terms of privacy and weapons, which increased anxiety among Americans. Moreover, the balloon was collecting the nation's top secrets that can directly intimidate the country’s security. China was rapidly developing and chasing the world’s leading position. In order for the U.S. to solve those problems, shooting the balloon was the most suitable method.

The world is terrorized by the idea of the cold war between the two biggest countries. The two superpowers take large portions in terms of everything, and such a clash will negatively impact the globe. Before the situation worsens, the two governments should improve their relationship for the sake of the world and themselves.