China has maintained that the initial 200ft (60m) balloon was for monitoring weather conditions rather than spying
and linked to private companies or research institutions., though they did not appear to have been used for spying.speak with President Xi Jinping about the alleged Chinese balloon that was first downed by US fighter jetsChina has maintained that the initial 200ft balloon was for monitoring weather conditions, despite Washington’s insistence that it was clearly was a surveillance balloon with a massive undercarriage containing electronics.
The President, who has offered few public comments about the spate of aerial objects, broke his silence after lawmakers demanded more information on the incidents.He said the intelligence community was still trying to learn more about the three unidentified objects: one shot down over Alaska, one over Canada and a third that plunged into Lake Huron.
The incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned visit to Beijing, where both sides had sought to stabilize already fraught relations.Blinken’s scheduled attendance at the Munich Security Conference this weekend has raised speculation that he could meet China’s top diplomat Wang Yi there.
Asked in advance about Mr Biden’s remarks, China’s foreign ministry spokesman once again referred to the downed balloon as an “unmanned civilian airship,” and said its flight into US airspace was an “isolated” incident.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Biden: Three unidentified objects shot down by US 'most likely' linked to private companiesThree unidentified objects shot down by the US did not appear to have been used for spying and were likely tied to benign purposes, Joe Biden has said.
Read more »
Biden: New Rules For UFOs Will Remain ClassifiedPresident Biden said that the US is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects
Read more »
US-China chip war: ASML says China employee stole dataLeading chip equipment maker ASML says it reported the breach to Netherlands and US authorities.
Read more »
Biden Says 3 Mysterious Objects Downed by Military Don't Appear to Be Part of China's Spying ProgramPresident Joe Biden said Thursday that the three aerial objects he ordered shot down after the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting across the country are not tied to Beijing’s high-altitude surveillance program.
Read more »
Mystery objects shot down over North America were probably 'benign', US admitsThe US says it destroyed the objects out of an abundance of caution after an alleged Chinese spy balloon drifted across its airspace. America's top military commander also reveals it took two attempts to destroy an object over Lake Huron after the first missile fired wide.
Read more »
What We Know About the ‘Unidentified Objects’ Shot Down Over the U.S. and CanadaA White House spokesperson suggested the three additional unidentified objects shot down over the last week were likely benign commercial devices
Read more »