I still think it's a genuine accident and not planned because who could have predicted that reaction.
However once it was clear that the US was spitting the dummy the CPC quickly decided to take advantage of the situation. The decision to very publicly notify Latin American countries to express regrate is part of it and Costa Rica playing along and answering back with "sure no problem, it's just a drifting weather balloon, thanks for the heads up" earns it some brownie points, as does Venezuela's condemnation of the shot down.
It kind of reminds me of that one time when Zhao Lijian posted that drawing of an Australian soldier slitting the throat of an Afghan child and it made Scott Morrison blow his top, only it's even less intentional this time. Once you get a disproportional and irrational response out of the other guy they make themselves look like a clown on the international stage.
The call for returning the balloon debris is like an international diplomacy equivalent of rubbing it in by saying "you mad bro?"
Last edited:
