In February 2023, a Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down in the United States (US) by the US Air Force (USAF). While US representatives say no information was lost to the Chinese government, the incident raises concerns about the Chinese government's geospatial and surveillance capabilities.
China's geospatial strategies encompass a wide range of areas, including national security, public security, and industrial regulations. This multifaceted approach is designed to serve both economic and national security interests. The recent balloon incident, which China claims was for weather data collection, still has raised suspicions due to the country's expanding collection methods in grey-zone warfare, including advancing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) through the use of spy balloons, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and other aerostat technologies as part of the People's Liberation Army's Reconnaissance Strike Complex (RSC).
Global prospects of Chinese geospatial ambitions
China's development of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BeiDou) is a testament to its technological prowess. Primarily designed for national security, driven by the 1996 Taiwan Strait missile crisis, BDS provides the Chinese military with strategic autonomy. It enables precise missile guidance, robust communication, and enhanced cyber and drone warfare capabilities without relying on the U.S.-controlled Geographic Positioning System (GPS). BeiDou offers superior accuracy, particularly in Asia-Pacific, with position accuracy under 10 cm compared to GPS’s 30 cm. Its compatibility with GPS, Russian Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), and the European Union’s GALILEO provide a reliable alternative for militaries concerned about GPS signal manipulation and interference during conflicts.
China’s existing geospatial strategies are bolstered by developing geospatial systems like BeiDou, a critical part of the Space Silk Road (China’s push to create a reliance on the BeiDou systems from all countries the Belt and Road Initiative passes through), and by increasing Chinese sovereignty in the global domain and the dependence of countries in China’s neighbourhood on them. One such country is Pakistan, which has integrated BeiDou into its military and civil systems as part of its cooperation with China, thus reducing its dependence on GPS. China has made similar agreements with other Belt and Road Initiative Members, including Saudi Arabia and Iran. In 2019, Saudi Arabia was also undersigned in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China to collaborate on using BeiDou in military applications and in 2021, Iran and China signed an MoU for a strategic partnership, while internal sources later alleged this included giving Iran access to BeiDou’s military-grade signals.
