House passes bill to sanction China for spy balloon intrusion

This Monday the House of Representatives passed a bill that would hold China responsible for the spy balloon that was discovered earlier this year violating U.S. airspace.

The legislative proposal called the Defending Airspace Sovereignty Act, was introduced by Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks and passed on a 403-6 vote.

The legislation focused on the premise that the Chinese balloon flight was an "unacceptable violation of United States sovereignty" and calls for holding the Asian giant accountable and sanctioning individuals determined to have been connected to the spy program. It also asks the Secretary of State to create a diplomatic strategy to inform allies about the surveillance program and create a "global consensus" on the issue.

The legislation proposes to coordinate with in-country partners "to identify and track future PRC surveillance balloons, counter PRC propaganda and misinformation about its global surveillance program, and publicly share any future violations of sovereignty."

Another suggestion of the project is to "stimulate greater diplomatic pressure" at the international level to prevent China from stopping this type of operation in the future.

The aim is to "coordinate with allies and partners on the imposition and implementation of substantially similar sanctions and export controls to ensure that commodities, software, or technology from the United States and its allies and partners are not supporting the PRC’s global surveillance efforts."

It should be recalled that the spy balloon that was discovered in February crossed most of the nation's mainland, and it is believed that it about the country's military targets.