The president is delivering remarks after officials shot down three unidentified objects and a suspected Chinese spy balloon in North American airspace.
Joe Biden
The president said he had earlier directed officials to shoot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon as soon as it was safe. He had been told that the balloon -- which was roughly the size of three school buses -- could pose a threat to people on land if it were not shot down over water.“Our experts have lifted components of the Chinese balloon’s payload off the ocean floor,” he said.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that Biden ordered intelligence officials to take a broad look at the phenomenon of unidentified aerial objects after he took office in January 2021. Since then, officials have been more closely scrutinizing North American airspace, he said.Biden said three objects shot down off the coast of Alaska, over the Yukon and over Lake Huron do not appear to be linked to China. Officials continue to investigate who launched them.
“The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions weather or conducting other scientific research.”White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden’s comments on Thursday will include “our decisive response to China’s high-altitude surveillance balloon and the president putting the safety and security of the American people always first.” She declined to elaborate.
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