The reaction of the US authorities to the discovered Chinese aerostozond disgraced the country and gave a geopolitical advantage to Beijing.
Such an opinion was expressed by former American Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
“China’s Communist Party acquired a huge geopolitical advantage. The whole world watched the airy ball slowly flew through Montana, Kansas and South Carolina, and the United States did nothing,” he said in an interview with The Hill.
According to Pompeo, the decision not to shoot down the balloon immediately after detection became a “huge mistake”.
“I can’t imagine that the risk of falling fragments over a place like Montana exceeded the threat of a global shame,” he added.