Political and diplomatic fallout continues after US shootdown of Chinese spy balloon

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GOP: BIDEN LOOKS WEAK: While the Biden administration says the president was informed of the Chinese balloon incursion into U.S. airspace Tuesday and gave the shootdown order Wednesday, a chorus of Republican critics argue the decision by the Pentagon to wait until the balloon was over water to bring it down allowed for days of additional intelligence collection by the Chinese, and projected an image of U.S. weakness.

“I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down,” President Joe Biden said Saturday after the balloon was brought down just off the coast of South Carolina by a single sidewinder missile fired from an Air Force F-22. “They decided — without doing damage to anyone on the ground — They decided that the best time to do that was as it got over water within the 12-mile limit.”

GOP lawmakers were nearly universal in their condemnation of the failure to shoot down the spy balloon as soon as it violated U.S. airspace over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and well before it could fly over Minuteman III missile silos in Montana, with its array of cameras and antennas.

“I can assure you that if we fly a balloon over China, they’re going to shoot it down, and probably a lot sooner than we did,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on ABC. “The message they were trying to send is what they believe internally, and that is that the United States is a once-great superpower that’s hollowed out, that’s in decline … How can you count on them, if they’re not going to do anything about a balloon over U.S. airspace, how are they going to come to the aid of Taiwan, or stand with the Philippians or Japan or India if — when the Chinese move on their territories?”

CHUCK SCHUMER SAYS SENATE WILL GET ‘FULL’ BRIEFING ON CHINA NEXT WEEK

TRUMP OFFICIALS NEVER TOLD OF PREVIOUS INCURSIONS: In an apparent attempt to blunt criticism of Biden’s delayed action, a senior defense official told reporters Saturday that Chinese surveillance balloons “transited the continental United States briefly at least three times during the prior administration and once that we know of at the beginning of this administration, but never for this duration of time.”

Former President Donald Trump denied the claim in a posting on his Truth Social account calling the account “fake disinformation” intended to “take the heat off the slow moving Biden fools. China had too much respect for ‘TRUMP’ for this to have happened, and it NEVER did.”

In an appearance on CNN Friday, former Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Pentagon claim is the first he’s heard of it. “I was surprised. I don’t ever recall somebody coming into my office or reading anything that the Chinese had a surveillance balloon above the United States … “I would remember that, for sure.”

“Biden’s DoD is shamelessly using an anonymous source to say that Chinese balloons flew over the US under Trump — and the Trump team allowed it,” tweeted Richard Grenell, Trump’s former acting director of national intelligence. “It is a lie. We never heard this — ever.”

“The Office of the Secretary of Defense has informed my office that several Chinese balloon incidents have happened in the past few years — including over Florida,” tweeted Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL). “Why weren’t they shot down?”

In a statement to CNN, Waltz said, “We understand there were incursions near Florida and Texas, but we don’t have clarity on what kind of systems were on these balloons or if these incursions occurred in territorial waters or overflew land.”

MTG SAYS TRUMP WOULD NOT HAVE LET CHINESE SPY BALLOON ENTER US, OFFICIALS SAY OTHERWISE

CHINA’S VEILED THREAT: In a series of statements from its Foreign and Defense ministries, China protested U.S. use of force as “a clear overreaction and a serious violation of international practice,” insisting the balloon was a “civilian unmanned airship” that drifted into U.S. airspace totally unexpectedly.

“The Chinese side has clearly asked the US side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner,” said the Foreign Ministry. “China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the company concerned, and reserves the right to make further responses if necessary.”

Chinese fighter jets have already been harassing U.S. reconnaissance flights in international airspace along the coast of China, and the statement by the Chinese Defense Ministry seemed to hint at more aggressive tactics. “We solemnly protest this move by the US side and reserve the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations,” said ministry spokesman Senior Col. Tan Kefei.

“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] has claimed publicly that the high-altitude balloon operating above the United States is a weather balloon that was blown off-course. This is false. This was a PRC surveillance balloon,” said the senior U.S. official who briefed reporters at the Pentagon. “This surveillance balloon purposefully traversed the United States and Canada. And we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites.”

“Its intrusion of our airspace for multiple days was an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” the official said.

OPINION: CHINA’S SELF-INFLICTED BALLOON SHOT

Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

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NATO CHIEF COMING TO DC: NATO announced this morning that Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is coming to Washington this week for high level meetings with Biden administration officials and congressional leaders.

Stoltenberg has press conferences scheduled for Wednesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, as well as meetings with national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Senate and House leadership.

Stoltenberg’s visit comes as the war in Ukraine is at a pivotal point, with Russian President Vladimir Putin mobilizing hundreds of thousands of fresh recruits for what’s expected to be a major offensive in the coming weeks aimed at regaining ground lost to Ukraine over the past six months.

UKRAINE’S DEFENSE MINISTER REPLACED: On the same day he held a news conference in Kyiv, Oleksii Reznikov got word that he would be replaced as defense minister by Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov.

The unofficial announcement from a close adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky apparently took Reznikov by surprise, and upon hearing he would be made minister of strategic industries, he told a Ukrainian news outlet. “If I suddenly received such an offer from the president of Ukraine or the prime minister, I would refuse it, because I do not have the expertise,” according to Reuters.

Earlier in the day, Reznikov said during a news conference that Ukraine has received everything from its “wish list to Santa,” except for modern fighter jets. “There will be planes, too,” Reznikov predicted, according to the Associated Press. “The question is just what kind exactly… Consider that this mission is already completed.”

UKRAINE TO REPLACE DEFENSE MINISTER AMID CORRUPTION SCANDALS

WICKER: SAME OLD SLOW WALK: With the expected Russian offensive looming, Republicans in Congress are putting pressure on the Biden administration to speed up the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

“I have repeatedly called for more, better, and faster aid to Ukraine, but [Friday’s] announcement from the president is more of the same unnecessary slow-walking that has gotten us to this point,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

On Friday the administration announced another $2.2 billion in military assistance for Ukraine that included more air defense capabilities, armored infantry vehicles, Javelin anti-tank missiles, artillery ammunition, and conventional and long-range rockets for U.S.-provided HIMARS launchers.

“The White House should learn from recent months that its fears of escalation are unfounded and that the Ukrainians are capable of quickly learning how to operate complex weapon systems,” Wicker said in a statement. “We should begin training on the F-16s and ATACMS they have asked for immediately and seek to transfer these weapons systems as soon as possible. Training for Abrams and the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb should have started months ago. Stalemate is not a recipe for achieving U.S. interests.”

UKRAINE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT GETTING WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL

The Rundown

The War Horse: National Guard Grapples With Suicide Rate, Resilience

THE RUNDOWN:

Washington Examiner: Chuck Schumer says Senate will get ‘full’ briefing on China next week

Washington Examiner: US shoots down Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic

Washington Examiner: Pentagon says Chinese spy balloon attempted to surveil ‘strategic sites’ in the U.S.

Washington Examiner: Rep. Mike Turner says Biden administration ‘lacks urgency’ after Chinese spy balloon fiasco

Washington Examiner: Rubio calls Chinese spy balloon a ‘clear message’ to US ahead of SOTU

Washington Examiner: MTG says Trump would not have let Chinese spy balloon enter US, officials say otherwise

Washington Examiner: Dry run: Balloons called top ‘delivery platform’ for nuclear EMP attack

Washington Examiner: Thousands mistake US owned research balloon for Chinese spy balloon

Washington Examiner: Opinion: China’s self-inflicted balloon shot

Washington Examiner: Mike Turner says Congress will receive Biden, Pence, Trump classified docs assessment

Washington Examiner: Crenshaw speculates secret McCarthy side deal was reason for Homeland chair defeat

Washington Examiner: Sen. Jon Tester announces hearing on suspected Chinese spy balloon

Washington Examiner: Ukraine to replace defense minister amid corruption scandals

Washington Examiner: Ukraine optimistic about getting weapons from Israel

Washington Examiner: House Foreign Affairs Committee set to have historically diverse leadership

USNI News: 3 Navy Warships, FBI Now Hunting For Wreckage Of Chinese Spy Balloon Off South Carolina

Reuters: Colombian Military Spots Balloon-Like Object In Its Airspace

Defense One: Key Republicans Launch Two-Part Plan to Pressure Biden on Ukraine

New York Times: Russia Pushes To Seize Town And Protect Supply Line

USNI News: U.S. Destroyer Operating Near The Black Sea For First Time Since Russia Invaded Ukraine

Breaking Defense: European Union to Double Military Training for Ukraine, Lines Up New Sanctions Package

Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-2 Fleet Remains Grounded, Limiting Participation At Red Flag

Defense News: Undisclosed Number Of Ospreys Grounded Until Clutch-Related Part Fixed

Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-1s Join F-22s and S. Korean F-35s, in Latest Bomber Task Force Mission

National Defense Magazine: Open Source Flight Tracking Called Threat to Military Aircraft

New York Times: Lobbying Helped Save 5 Flawed Warships

Calendar

THE CALENDAR:

MONDAY | FEBRUARY 6

2 p.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: “What to Expect from Biden’s Second State of the Union Address,” with Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in governance studies at Brookings; Constanze Stelzenmuller, director of the Brookings Center on the U.S. and Europe; David Wessel, director of the Brookings Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy; Camille Busette, director of governance studies at Brookings; and William Galston, senior fellow in governance studies at Brookings https://www.brookings.edu/events/what-to-expect

TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 7

8 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group Zoom conversation with Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), chairman, Senate Armed Services Committee Contact: Thom Shanker at [email protected]

9:30 a.m. — Wilson Center International Change and Security Program virtual discussion: “Water and Conflict: Updates from the Russia-Ukraine War,” with Volodymyr Bilynskyy, deputy chief engineer of Lvivvodokanal, the Lviv City Communal Enterprise Water Utility; Sebastien Truffaut, former UNICEF water, sanitation and hygiene chief in Ukraine; Franklin Broadhurst, water, sanitation and hygiene technical adviser at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance; Dmytro Vankovych, director of the Lviv City Communal Enterprise Water Utility; and Erika Weinthal, professor of environmental policy at Duke University https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/water

10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “The Pressing Threat of the Chinese Communist Party to U.S. National Defense,” with testimony from: Robert O’Brien, former national security adviser; retired Adm. Harry Harris, former commander, U.S. Pacific Command; and Melanie Sisson, foreign policy fellow, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

10:30 a.m. — Hudson Institute event: “Securing Cyberspace: Hardening America’s Software against Foreign Digital Sabotage, with Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX); Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology; Jason Weiss, chief software officer, Conquest Cyber; and Cliff Bean, director of Navy missions, Defense Sector, Peraton https://www.hudson.org/preview-link

2 p.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution “The Russia-Ukraine war: Year two and strategic consequences,” with Fiona Hill, senior fellow, Center on the U.S. and Europe, Brookings; Susan Glasser, staff writer, the New Yorker; Constanze Stelzenmuller, Fritz Stern chairwoman on Germany and trans-Atlantic relations, senior fellow, and director, Center on the U.S. and Europe, Brookings; Asli Aydintasbas, visiting fellow, Center on the U.S. and Europe, Brookings; Matthew Duss, visiting scholar, American Statecraft Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Amy Nelson, fellow, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Brookings; Kori Schake, senior fellow and director of foreign and defense policy studies, American Enterprise Institute; Michael O’Hanlon, Philip H. Knight chairman in defense and strategy, senior fellow ,and director, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Brookings; Bruce Jones, senior fellow and director, Project on International Order and Strategy, Brookings; Patricia Kim, fellow, Center for East Asia Policy Studies and John L. Thornton China Center, Brookings; Natan Sachs, senior fellow and director, Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings; and Tara Varma, visiting fellow, Center on the U.S. and Europe, Brookings https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-ukraine-year-two

9 p.m. House Chamber, U.S. Capitol — President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.

10:15 p.m. — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, (R-AK) delivers the Republican response to the president’s State of the Union address.

WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 8

6:30 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Virginia — Association of the U.S. Army Coffee Series in-person event featuring Gen. James Rainey, commanding general, U.S. Army Futures Command https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-series/gen-rainey

8 a.m. 801 Mount Vernon Pl. NW— ESRI Federal GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Conference with Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, https://www.esri.com/en-us/about/events/federal-gis-conference/overview

9:30 a.m. — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “Winning the Peace After the War: Supporting Ukrainian Democracy,” with Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova; Anthony Banbury, president and CEO of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems; and Peter Erben, global principal adviser and senior country director in Ukraine at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems https://www.usip.org/events/winning-peace-after-war

10 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Countering Russian threats to global financial security,” with Ukrainian Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko; and John Cusack, founder of the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/countering-russian-threats

11 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “State of the Defense Industrial Base,” with Eric Fanning, president and CEO, Aerospace Industries Association; David Norquist, president and CEO, National Defense Industrial Association; and Matthew Paxton, president, Shipbuilders Council of America https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/full-committee

3 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: ‘The Role of Special Operations Forces in Great Power Competition,” with Seth Jones, senior vice president, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Retired Army Lt. Gen. Charles Cleveland, former commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; and David Ucko, professor and department chair, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

12:30 p.m. — Business Council for International Understanding discussion: “Progress in the War in Ukraine and issues related to getting defense equipment to Ukraine,” with Ukrainian Air Force Maj. Gen. Borys Krementskyi, Ukrainian defense attache to the U.S. http://www.bciu.org/events/upcoming-events

5 p.m. 1521 16th St. N.W. — Institute of World Politics discussion: “The Coming Hypersonic Revolution and its Impact on International Security,” with Bill Bruner, co-founder and CEO of New Frontier Aerospace https://www.iwp.edu/events/the-coming-hypersonic-revolution

9 p.m. 40 Presidential Dr., Simi Valley, Calif. — Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute book discussion: Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love, with author/former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo https://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs-events

THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 9

8:30 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “The Future of War: Is the Pentagon Prepared to Deter and Defeat America’s Adversaries?” with Chris Brose, author; Retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, senior director, Center on Cyber Technology and Innovation, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; Peter Singer, strategist, New America and Managing Partner of Useful Fiction LLC https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings/citi-hearing-future-war-pentagon-prepared-deter-and-defeat-america-s-adversaries

8:45 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “U.S. Extended Deterrence,” with Gary Samore, director of Brandeis University’s Center for Middle East Studies https://www.csis.org/events/capital-cable-64-us-extended-deterrence

10 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. — Hudson Institute discussion: “Building a More Resilient Indo-Pacific Security Architecture,” with Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner; and Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey Ford https://www.hudson.org/events/building-more-resilient-indo-pacific-security-architecture

11:30 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. NW — U.S. Institute of Peace discussion: “China and Strategic Stability in Space: Pathways to Peace in an Era of U.S. – China Strategic Competition,” with Associate NASA Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy Bhavya Lal; Bruce MacDonald, adjunct professor in international studies at Johns Hopkins University; Victoria Samson, Washington office director at the Secure World Foundation; Scott Pace, director of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute; and Carla Freeman, USIP senior expert https://www.usip.org/events/china-and-strategic-stability-space

1:30 p.m. — Wilson Center Polar Institute virtual discussion: “Deterring Russia at Sea in the High North,” with Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, commander of Fleet Forces Command; Navy Vice Adm. Daniel Dwyer, commander of the Second Fleet and Joint Forces Command-Norfolk; Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff for Policy Rear Adm. Anthony Rimington; retired Navy Adm. James Foggo, dean of the Center for Maritime Strategy; Chris Kofron, director for Russia at the National Security Council; and former USAID Administrator Mark Green, president, director and CEO of the Wilson Center https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/deterring-russia-sea-high-north

QUOTE OF THE DAY



[To] say that it’s not a weather balloon — that would be a Santos-style whopper. I think it’s a reconnaissance balloon. It’s a military balloon and we have to treat it as such.”

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) ranking member on the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, on CNN Saturday

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