A Chinese spy balloon was spotted over the U.S. several days ago. It was shot down by the U.S. military once it drifted off the East Coast near the Carolinas, according to the Pentagon.

What people need to appreciate about the situation “is that both Beijing and Washington, D.C., the prevailing wisdom on both sides, is that we are entering a so-called 'decisive decade' where both sides are going to make the moves that they can make to try and either make gains or maintain the current status and so each one of these events needs to be taken in that context," says Dimitar Gueorguiev, associate professor of political science.

"A bizarre situation with this balloon in particular is best understood as an attempt to kind of clarify what the terms of engagement are," he says. "And what you’ve seen over the past couple of days is that surveillance aircraft at a certain level of altitude are now probably more likely to happen and are more at risk of being shot down," says Gueorguiev.

Listen to the full interview on NewsRadio 570 WSYR.