He said the US intelligence community was still trying to learn more about the three unidentified objects: one that fell in Alaska, one in Canada and a third that fell in Lake Huron. The administration has stated that the objects were shot down because they posed a threat to civil aviation.
“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing suggests right now that they were related to the Chinese spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from another country,” Biden said.
The intelligence community believed the objects were “most likely balloons associated with private companies, entertainment or research institutions,” Biden said.
Biden said they may have been spotted because of radar, which was increased in response to the Chinese balloons.
“That’s why I have instructed my team to come back to me with strict rules on how we will deal with these unknown items going forward, distinguishing between those that are likely to pose a security risk and those that need to be acted upon.” require and who don’t,” he said.
Biden said that going forward, the results of the administration’s review of how to deal with unidentified objects would be classified and shared with relevant members of Congress. “These parameters will remain classified so we don’t give our enemies a road map for trying to circumvent our defenses,” he said.
Biden’s remarks followed reports that the Chinese balloon, shot down on February 4 after crossing the continental United States, was originally on a trajectory that would have taken it over Guam and Hawaii, but was blown away by prevailing winds .
The incident prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a planned February visit to Beijing, where the two sides had planned to stabilize already fractious relations.
Blinken’s scheduled appearance at the Munich Security Conference this coming weekend has fueled speculation that he may meet Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, there.
The US military shot the balloon down off the South Carolina coast. US lawmakers have slammed the administration for first sweeping it across the country, including at sensitive military bases.