I ask this in this sub because we know that there are technologies that are capable of detecting such events happening, like satellite imagery/aerial systems. Drones and the space sector as a whole is hot topic here for a while and they already have demonstrated such usage. Some examples I can think of is Planet Labs with their usage of the Chinese base development and Russian vessels. Sure, this operation could have been formed and executed in a very short amount of time but (aside from foreign intelligence agencies), why wasn't "this exact event" known beforehand? This might be a reach but if the US did this, can China possibly do a similar thing to Taiwan (at a bigger scale ofc).