The White House said the object posed “a reasonable threat” to aviation. (file)
Washington:
A US fighter jet shot down an unidentified object over Alaska on Friday, the White House said, just six days after the downing of an alleged Chinese spy balloon sparked a fresh diplomatic rift with Beijing.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was unclear what the purpose or origin of the new object was, but said it was taken down because, floating at 40,000 feet, it was a threat to civil aviation.
“The president ordered the military to take down the object,” Kirby said.
Kirby said the object was much smaller than a giant Chinese balloon that crossed the United States last week and was shot down by a US fighter jet off the Atlantic coast on Saturday.
“It was roughly the size of a small car,” he said.
“We don’t know who owns it, whether state-owned or corporate-owned,” he said. “We don’t understand the full purpose.”
The incident comes amid a new alarm by US officials about China’s ongoing program of flying surveillance balloons around the world to collect intelligence.
US officials said such balloons have flown over more than 40 countries, including over United States territory at least four times before.
The Chinese balloon raised particular concerns last week as it hovered over areas where the United States keeps nuclear missiles in underground silos and bases strategic bombers.
The incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel an impending visit to Beijing that had long been planned and aimed at improving communications between the two rival superpowers.
– ‘Reasonable threat’ –
Kirby said the new object was detected late Thursday night, and shot down Friday afternoon Washington-time.
Kirby said it went down in northern Alaska near the Canadian border and splashed onto a frozen body of water, making recovery possible.
“We hope to be able to recover the wreckage,” he added.
Biden ordered the shoot-down because at the altitude it was flying, the object posed a “reasonable danger” to civil aviation.
He added that the US military sent an aircraft to inspect the object before it was brought down and that “the pilot’s assessment was that it was not manned.”
He said the Chinese surveillance balloon had a clear ability to propel itself and maneuver.
“It was clearly intended for intelligence surveillance and was inconsistent with the equipment on the weather balloons,” a senior State Department official said Thursday.
“It had multiple antennas to collect communications and included an array capable of geo-locating,” the official said.
The official also tied the balloon to the People’s Liberation Army of China, without directly saying that it was deployed by the PLA.
Beijing rejected US allegations that it sent the balloon to spy on the United States, saying it had simply entered US airspace by accident.
But since Saturday, China has rejected and offered US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to talk over the phone on the issue.
“The US insisted on the use of force to attack the airship, which seriously violated international practice and set a bad precedent,” the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)