President Joe Biden speaks about Chinese surveillance balloons and other unidentified objects shot down by the US military in Washington, February 16, 2023. , Photo Credit: AP
President Joe Biden said Thursday that the US is developing “faster rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unidentified aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama over the search. suspected chinese spy balloon Relocating most of the country.
The president has directed National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an “interagency team” to review US procedures. US shoots down Chinese balloonAs well as three other items that Mr. Biden said the US now believes are “benign” items introduced by private companies or research institutions.
Mr Biden said he hoped the new rules would help “differentiate between those who are likely to pose safety and security risks that require action and those who do not.”
“Make no mistake, if an item poses a threat to the safety and security of the American people, I will remove it,” he said.
The downing of a Chinese surveillance plane was the first known peacetime shooting down of an unauthorized object in US airspace – repeated three times a week later.
“I look forward to talking with President Xi and I hope we can get to the bottom of this,” Mr. Biden said, “but I have no regrets for taking that balloon down.”
Mr. Biden said the rules would remain classified so as not to “give our enemies a roadmap to try to circumvent our defenses.”
The Chinese balloon has raised tensions between the US and China.
Mr. Biden remained largely silent on items off the coast of Alaska on Friday, over Canada on Saturday, and sunday over lake huron, On Monday, the White House solemnly announced that there was no sign of “aliens or extraterrestrial activity.” As of Wednesday, US officials said they were still working to locate debris from the objects, but they hoped the three would not be related to surveillance efforts.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, “The intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that these may simply be some commercial or well-aimed balloons.” Mr. Kirby said no country or private company has come forward to claim any of the items. They do not appear to have been operated by the US government.
There are still unresolved questions about the original balloon, including what spying capabilities it had and whether it was transmitting signals as it flew over sensitive military sites in the United States. According to a US official, it was believed by US intelligence to be initially on a track towards the US territory of Guam.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said the US tracked it for several days after it left China. It appears to have veered from its initial trajectory and eventually flew over the continental US, the official said.
Balloons and other unidentified objects have previously been spotted over Guam, a strategic hub for the US Navy and Air Force in the western Pacific.
It is unclear how much control China retained over the balloon after it deviated from its original path. A second US official said the balloon could have been controlled externally or directed to hover over a specific target, but it was unclear whether the Chinese military did so.
After the balloons were shot down, the White House revealed that such balloons had passed over US territory at least three times during President Donald Trump’s administration and that Trump or his aides were not aware – and that another five Have flown to dozens of countries across continents. Kirby stressed on Monday that he was only traced by the Biden administration.