The White House has claimed US forces have shot down an object spotted at high altitude, as the arguments over the Chinese spy balloon continues.
The unknown object, said to be the size of a small car, was flying at about 40,000 feet when it was first seen.
In an update John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman, said it posed a "reasonable threat" to the safety of civilian flights.
Kirby added President Joe Biden ordered the military to shoot down the object, which fell into US waters.
He said: "I can confirm that the department of defence was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaskan airspace in the last 24 hours.
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Officials are still in the process of recovering the debris from the suspected spy balloon from last weekend (EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock)“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.”
The military action comes just under a week since the US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon last weekend, which officials are still recovering debris from off the coast of South Carolina.
At a senate subcommittee hearing, homeland security and military chiefs repeatedly faced questions as to why the balloon - which was first detected entering US airspace on January 28 - was allowed to cross over America before it was eventually shot down off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday.
The object is believed to be the size of a small car (AFP via Getty Images)The latest object shot down, said to have been in the last 24 hours, is said to be much smaller than the last perceived threat.
The Chinese balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday was part of a large surveillance programme China had been running for "a number of years," the Pentagon claimed.
Brigadier General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a news conference Wednesday similar balloons flew over American soil four times during the Trump and Biden administrations,
The suspected spy balloon was shot down by a single missile from a F-22 fighter jet (EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock)The United States did not instantly recognise them as Chinese spy balloons, but was able to identify they were involved in a Chinese surveillance operation and learn "a lot more" through "subsequent intelligence analysis," Ryder said.
Ryder didn't reveal more information on the earlier balloons, except that they passed over "spots which might be of interest to the Chinese"
In the wake of last weekend's action, China claimed it had been a civilian balloon used for meteorological research and sharply criticized the US for shooting it down.
John Kirby said the latest object was the size of a car (Susan Walsh/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In response to questions about China's explanation, Ryder said Wednesday: “I can assure you this was not for civilian purposes...we are 100% clear about that.”
White House says China has 'high-altitude balloon programme connected to army'
China responded it reserved the right to "take further actions" and criticized the U.S. for "an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice."
In its statement Sunday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "China will resolutely uphold the relevant company's legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response."
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