FP This Week: Did the U.S. overreact to the spy balloon?

Plus, have sanctions against Russia worked? [Foreign Policy This Week]( February 13, 2023 | [View in browser]( To access all the benefits of an FP subscription, [sign in]( or [subscribe](. Thanks for reading. Following a weekend of apparent Chinese incursions into U.S. airspace, FP columnist Howard W. French has [two words of advice]( for the U.S. government: Calm down. “Level-headed and discreet but hard-nosed policymaking … toward China seems almost like an impossible dream now,” he writes. “In its increasingly excited responses to Beijing’s perceived challenge, the United States betrays its own values at deep cost to itself.” [Read on]( for more on why this is a hullaballoon of America’s making—and why the U.S. government’s approach to TikTok risks falling into the same trap. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a much-anticipated visit to China after the discovery of the Chinese surveillance balloon flying over U.S. territory. This very public spat over alleged spying is just the most recent example of strains in the world’s most important relationship. [Watch this]( FP Live with Georgetown University’s Emily Weinstein and FP’s James Palmer on the broader impacts of the balloon on Washington’s China policy.—The Editors --------------------------------------------------------------- New and Noteworthy - Neutral Austria Faces International Criticism: Austria has come under criticism after it issued visas to sanctioned Russian officials so that they could attend a meeting in Vienna of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In today’s [Morning Brief]( we look at Austrian neutrality, arrests over construction in Turkey, and the U.S. shootdown of another flying object. - The Economics of Dating Apps: In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, [Ones and Tooze]( is starting a new series on the economics of love. 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In a recent FP Live, experts discussed how sanctions impact U.S. interests today and whether policymakers need to change course. Plus, [read a selection]( of our best writing on this topic in Sunday’s [Flash Points]( newsletter. Every week, Flash Points takes readers on a journey through FP’s archive on an intriguing issue in geopolitics. [Watch here]( Israel’s Democratic Decline The new Israeli government is said to be the most far-right, religiously extreme, and ultranationalist coalition in the country’s history, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Is Israel’s democracy really at risk? FP’s Dan Ephron and Amir Tibon, a senior editor and writer at Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, discussed Israel’s new far-right government. [Watch here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Exercise Your Mind Protesters in India are calling for the Modi administration to investigate which multinational conglomerate after a U.S. investigative research firm accused it of accounting fraud? - Reliance Industries - Adani Group - Aditya Birla Group - Mahindra Group You can find the answer to this question at the end of this email. [Click here]( to take the rest of our weekly news quiz. FP subscribers can [sign up]( to be notified when new editions are available. --------------------------------------------------------------- It’s Debatable: Is the U.S. Reaction to China’s Spy Balloon Overdue or Overblown? Beijing’s botched high-altitude surveillance has provoked a backlash among Biden administration officials and the American public. Emma Ashford: At what altitude does sovereign airspace end, though, and space begin? This was exactly the issue with the U-2. Washington thought the Soviet air defenses couldn’t reach high enough to shoot it down, but they could. Matthew Kroenig: Good question. It is not defined in international law. But, putting the historic U-2 flights aside for a moment, many people were drawing parallels with U.S. spy planes in the Indo-Pacific, but that is not an apt comparison because U.S. planes are collecting from international airspace. I don’t begrudge China for trying to spy on the United States. As you say, these spy-versus-spy games are commonplace in international politics. But I also think the U.S. government was within its rights to be upset about it and to shoot the thing down. You say Washington blew the episode out of proportion. What would you have recommended as a better response? [Continue reading in Foreign Policy](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Most Popular on FP - [Ukrainian Women’s Looks Are None of Your Business]( by Oleksandra Povoroznyk - [How Corruption and Misrule Made Turkey’s Earthquake Deadlier]( by Gonul Tol - [It’s High Time to Decolonize Western Russia Studies]( by Artem Shaipov and Yuliia Shaipova - [How Lebanon Can Unlock Its Oil and Gas Wealth]( by Khaldoun AbouAssi, Lamia Moubayed, and Deborah Lee Trent - [When the Same North Korea Policy Fails Over and Over Again]( by Anthony Ruggiero --------------------------------------------------------------- FP Virtual Dialogue: Enhancing Cyber Nuclear Security March 2, 2023 | 10 a.m. EST The seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant by Russian forces is the latest example of a long trend of state and nonstate actors targeting critical infrastructure. Cyberattacks aiming to cause similar disruptions have increased in frequency, thus prompting urgent questions over how to protect these vulnerable state assets both on the battlefield and online. Join Foreign Policy, in partnership with Schmidt Futures and the International Strategy Forum, as we strategize approaches to strengthen international security with leading scientists, defense officials, and policymakers. [Register here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Are you interested in learning more about FP Analytics’ cutting-edge research services, hosting an FP Virtual Dialogue event, or building a podcast with FP Studios? [Explore partnership opportunities]( Answer: 2.) Adani Group. The controversy has spotlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close ties to the Adani Group’s founder, FP’s Ones and Tooze podcast [analyzes](. 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