Biden says latest objects shot down over US not linked to China spy program | Joe Biden

Joe Biden has broken his silence on unidentified airborne objects shot down over North America over the past week, assessing that they were “most likely” operated by private companies or research organizations rather than China.

The US president’s tentative conclusion is likely to fuel criticism that his orders to dismantle the objects were an overreaction amid political pressure over the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon crossing much of the country.

Biden spoke for eight minutes Thursday at the Eisenhower office building after Republicans and some Democrats raised concerns his unwillingness to comment on the issue could allow conspiracy theories to thrive.

“We don’t yet know exactly what those three objects were, but at the moment there’s nothing to suggest they’re linked to China’s spy balloon program or that they’re surveillance vehicles from another country,” the president told reporters of flags and the seal of the President.

“The intelligence community’s current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private corporations, recreational or research facilities studying the weather or conducting other scientific research.”

Earlier this month, an American fighter jet downed a balloon sent by the Chinese government off the coast of South Carolina. The incident led to accusations from Republicans that Biden was too slow to react and should have shot it down before it passed the continental US.

When three other unidentified objects were sighted off the coast of Alaska on Friday, over Canada on Saturday and over Lake Huron on Sunday, Biden quickly ordered them taken down.

But on Thursday he acknowledged that many objects are being sent up by countries, companies and research organizations for “not nefarious” reasons, including legitimate scientific research, as efforts to relocate the wreckage have been hampered by weather .

“I want to be clear,” Biden said. “We have no evidence that the number of objects in the sky suddenly increased. We’re just seeing more of them now, in part due to the steps we’ve taken to increase our radars.”

The president, who has instructed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to head a “inter-agency team” to review procedures, said the US is developing “tighter rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown airborne objects.

These rules would help “distinguish between those likely to pose security risks that require action and those that don’t,” he added. “Make no mistake, if any object poses a threat to the safety of the American people, I will remove it.”

The downing of the Chinese surveillance ship was the first known peacetime downing of an unauthorized object in US airspace and continues to send out diplomatic waves.

The White House National Security Council said the balloon has the ability to collect communications, and China has previously flown similar surveillance balloons over dozens of countries on multiple continents, including some of the US’s closest allies.

The US has blacklisted six Chinese companies it said are linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs.

China has denied the balloon was a surveillance airship. Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference that the balloon’s entry into US airspace was “an unintentional, unexpected and isolated event,” adding, “China has repeatedly notified the US side, but the US have overreacted by using force and escalating the situation.

“She also used the incident as an excuse to impose illegal sanctions on Chinese companies and institutions. China is firmly opposed and will take countermeasures against relevant US entities that have undermined China’s sovereignty and security in accordance with the law, in order to firmly protect China’s sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests.”

US relations to China has been tested over the past year by tensions over cybersecurity, competition in the technology sector, the looming threat to Taiwan and China’s failure to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On Thursday, Biden criticized China’s surveillance program, saying the “violation of our sovereignty was unacceptable,” but said he was trying to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing. “We are not looking for a new Cold War.”

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken postponed his first planned trip to China because the balloon was flying over the US and a new meeting with his Chinese counterpart has yet to be scheduled.

“I expect to speak to President Xi and I hope we can get to the bottom of this,” Biden said. “But I’m not apologizing for shooting down that balloon.”

Senators from both sides of the aisle have complained about being denied detailed information. John Cornyn, a Republican Senator for Texas, told the Politico website that the White House “by not being transparent is creating a bigger problem for itself because people’s minds, their imaginations, start to run wild. I think they are behind the curve in that regard and really need to be more transparent.”

To be on the safe side, the White House was forced to announce Monday that there was no evidence of “aliens or extraterrestrial activity.”