It must be admitted that the flap over an enormous Chinese balloon that flew or blew, unannounced, over the US and Canada last week has a certain funny side. Pentagon generals went on high alert, fearful that their missile silos in Montana were being spied on. Joe Biden, not normally a trigger-happy man, had to be persuaded not to shoot it down, and then changed his mind. Republicans accused the president of being weak on balloon defence. Red-faced officials in Beijing scrambled to talk the over-excited Americans down.
The balloon, most likely a clandestine surveillance device, was ultimately deemed not to pose a physical threat. The Chinese, while insisting it was a weather device accidentally gone astray, nevertheless apologised.
