According to US President Joe Biden, the three mysterious flying objects recently shot down by the US military were likely on their way for research purposes. According to intelligence services, they probably belonged to private companies or research institutions, as Biden said in Washington on Thursday. He advocated the downing of the Chinese balloon.
“We still don’t know exactly what these three objects were, but at this point there is nothing to indicate that they were connected to China’s spy balloon program,” Biden said. There is also nothing to suggest that they were traveling for spying purposes on behalf of another country.
Biden defends deaths
After the US military shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 4, three other, smaller, unidentified flying objects have fallen from the sky since late last week. One was shot down over Alaska, one over Canada and one over Lake Huron, which is part of the Great Lakes in the northern United States, bordering Canada. Since then, there has been speculation about the origin and purpose of flying objects.
Biden defended the US military’s launch of the alleged Chinese spy balloon against criticism from Beijing. “I make no apologies for releasing that balloon,” he said. The US did not seek conflict with China and did not want a new Cold War. It’s just a matter of competition between the two states. Diplomats from the two countries are still in contact. “And I look forward to speaking with President Xi,” he said, referring to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Chinese government sees “overreaction”
In this case, however, China violated US sovereignty. Biden said this was unacceptable. The shooting was therefore necessary to send a clear message to Beijing.
The US government accuses China of using the balloon to spy on military installations. Beijing, on the other hand, spoke of a civilian research balloon that was off course – the Chinese government saw the launch as an “overreaction”. The incident put additional strain on the already tense relationship between the two nuclear powers. (apa)