‘Will do whatever it takes,’ says Rishi Sunak amid Chinese spy balloon fears

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that he will do whatever it takes to keep Britain safe amid fears of Chinese spy balloons targeting the UK. Sunak added that while he cannot comment much about national security details, the British government is in constant touch with their allies. 

Sunak was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI, “We have something called the quick reaction alert force, which involves Typhoon planes kept on 24/7 readiness to police our airspace. I can’t obviously comment in detail on national security matters but we are in constant touch with our allies and as I said we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.”

Sunak’s remarks come after UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that Britain will review the security implications of the recent incursions of a suspected Chinese spy balloon into the western airspace. Wallace said, “The UK and her allies will review what these airspace intrusions mean for our security. This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse.” 

UK Transport Minister Richard Holden, however, said it is a possibility that Chinese spy balloons had already been sent to the UK while adding China is trying to act like a hostile state. Holden told Sky News, “I think we have to be realistic about the threat these countries pose to the UK.”

The US military shot down the fourth flying object and recovered critical electronics including key sensors presumably used for intelligence gathering from the suspected Chinese spy balloon. US officials are apprehensive that the spy balloon was sent by Beijing to monitor sensitive sites but China said it was a weather balloon. 

Soon after, the Chinese foreign ministry said the US has flown balloons into its airspace more than 10 times a year. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press briefing, “The first thing the US side should do is start with a clean slate, undergo some self-reflection, instead of smearing and accusing China.”

(With agency inputs)

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