; Whereas intelligence collection by the PRC directed against the United States poses a threat to the interests and security of the United States and extends beyond the capabilities demonstrated by the February 2023 incident and related incidents; Whereas, while the PRC has a long history of intelligence collection operations against national security entities of the United States, reports of its espionage have risen significantly in the past decade; Whereas the Chinese Communist Party spread false claims about the nature and purpose of the surveillance balloon, falsely claiming it to be a weather balloon that veered off course due to force majeure ; Whereas, on February 3, 2023, the Secretary of State postponed his trip to the PRC and referred to the balloon incident as an irresponsible act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that undermined the purpose of the trip ; Whereas Article I of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, states that every State has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory ; Whereas the substantial increase in the detection of unidentified aerial phenomena since February 4, 2023 warrants further investigation and attention to domain awareness gaps identified by United States Northern Command; and Whereas it is in the national security interest of the United States to deter foreign adversaries from engaging in intelligence collection and other malign activities within United States territory and airspace: Now, therefore, be it