House Unanimously Passes Resolution Condemning China "Spy Balloon"

MNI London: The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed a resolution condemning China's use a surveillance balloon over the continental United States.

• The resolution, brought to the floor five days after the balloon was shot down, passed in a bipartisan 419-0 after the GOP decided to alter the bill from criticising the Biden Administration response to the balloon.
• Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said “an event like this... must not happen again. And it cannot go unanswered.”
• McCaul: “[China] must understand that we do desire peace, but infringing upon our sovereignty leads us down a dangerous path.”
• The overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill highlights an a extreme hawkish Capitol Hill at a time when US-China relations are experiencing a period of unprecedented degradation.
• David Sacks, at the Council on Foreign Relations says the response to the "spy balloon" incident has worrying implications for how Beijing and Washington may react to a more serious incident.
• Sacks: “If you had a real crisis on your hands, it would be very difficult to de-escalate and it would be really difficult for a president of either party to find [a diplomatic resolution].”