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Downed Chinese balloon on February 4th
Photo: Chad Fish / picture alliance/dpa/Chad Fish/AP
After the US military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on February 4, it has taken three other previously unidentified flying objects from the sky since Friday.
So far, however, the US government has no indication that these are part of a balloon fleet from China.
It's still not known where the objects came from and what their mission was, said White House communications director John Kirby.
"The possibility that these are balloons that are simply tied to commercial or research facilities and are therefore harmless is not ruled out," Kirby said.
So far, neither groups nor individuals have claimed the objects for themselves.
Certainly no US aircraft
One can also rule out with certainty that these are objects of the US government.
The remains of the objects have also still not been found.
"We're struggling with the weather and general geographic conditions." Kirby said it could be some time before the debris is finally recovered.
One of the objects was shot down over Alaska, one over Canada and one over Lake Huron, which is part of the Great Lakes region of northern United States bordering Canada.
The US accuses China of running a surveillance program with balloons and targeting more than 40 countries.
Most recently, the United States had recovered debris from the balloon shot down over the US east coast and, according to their own statements, also identified electronic parts and sensors.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the entry of the downed Chinese balloon into US airspace as a "completely unexpected and isolated event" caused by "force majeure".
It was also a weather balloon.
He had “no information” about the other flying objects reported after that, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Monday.
ssi/dpa/Reuters
