4 things to know in the aftermath of the Chinese spy balloon

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, February 11, 2023

U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby participates in a news briefing at the Pentagon on August 23, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia. Kirby held a news briefing to update the U.S. evacuation efforts to bring U.S. citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and others out of Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country earlier than expected. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

Other 'high altitude objects' have circulated in the Western Hemisphere

On Friday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby announced at a White House press briefing that "the Department of Defense was tracking a high altitude object over Alaska airspace," which was later shot down.

Kirby told reporters that "the object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight."

"Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object. And they did. And it came inside our territorial waters."

Kirby could not confirm if the object belonged to China but said it was "smaller" than the spy balloon shot down last week. He specified that the object was shot down over the northeast corner of Alaska early Friday afternoon eastern time, near the Canadian border.

Shortly after the spy balloon that traveled across the continental U.S. ceased to pose a national security threat, the Department of Defense issued a warning about an additional Chinese spy balloon hovering over Latin America.

"This is not the only [People's Republic of China] surveillance balloon operating in the Western Hemisphere," a senior DOD official said at a press briefing last Saturday.

"We assess that a balloon was observed transiting Central and South America and that that is another PRC surveillance balloon," he added. "These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries."

The DOD official also indicated that "over the past several years, Chinese balloons have previously been spotted over countries across five continents, including in East Asia, South Asia, and Europe."

In a press conference Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Mao Ning acknowledged that the balloon belonged to China but denied that it was conducting surveillance.

"With regard to the balloon over Latin America, it has been verified that the unmanned airship is from China, of civilian nature, and used for flight test. Affected by the weather and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course and entered into the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean."

Ning insisted that the situation was "being properly handled and will not pose any threat to any country," adding, "We have informed relevant sides."