The United States Government defended on Monday the demolition of three unidentified targets in recent days, despite the fact that the authorities have no indication that these were intended for acts of espionage, unlike the Chinese balloon.
All three objects, including one shot down Sunday over Lake Huron, were traveling at such a low altitude that they posed a risk to civilian air traffic, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
Although the Joe Biden government does not yet have evidence that these were equipped for espionage purposes, or that they belonged to China, the authorities have not ruled out these possibilities, he added.
“These were decisions based purely and simply on the best interest of the American people,” Kirby said.
This controversy began with a giant white sphere, detected for the first time in the skies of the United States at the end of January, a situation that puzzled the US authorities and aroused curiosity around the world.
Although the three most recent objects differed in size, maneuverability and other characteristics from the surveillance balloon shot down on February 4, authorities took steps to remove them from the sky.
“Since we haven’t been able to definitively assess what these newer objects are, we proceed with an abundance of caution,” Kirby said.
One possibility the United States has managed to rule out is any link to extraterrestrial activity, the White House said Monday, cracking down on speculation about aliens and outer space.
Other Western nations are also trying to assess the series of incidents and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday the government would do “whatever it takes” to protect the country, as he launched a security review in the Kingdom. United.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has argued that “there is some kind of pattern” to the Chinese balloon and the other three objects, although the US disagrees with these statements.
John Kirby spoke to reporters on Monday following allegations by China that more than 10 US high-altitude balloons have flown over its airspace over the past year without its permission.
US officials have already vehemently denied the allegations, with Kirby stressing: “We are not flying surveillance balloons over China.”
After the United States shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon last week – which Beijing says was for meteorological purposes only and strayed off the original route – Washington on Sunday ordered the downing of another flying object overflying the Lake Huron, on the Canadian border.
The situation has already created a diplomatic crisis, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled his planned visit to China.
None of the three most recent objects has been recovered, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stressed in statements to reporters in Brussels, where he traveled to participate this week in a meeting of NATO defense ministers. .
Austin argued that weather impeded recovery efforts in Alaska, while in Canada the object was shot down in a very remote area that also hampered operations.
In Alaska, where the object landed on sea ice, wind chill and safety concerns “are dictating recovery timelines,” he said.
Source: TSF
