The U.S. and Canada awoke Sunday facing high-stakes questions: How safe are the skies over North America? And just how pervasive is China’s aerial surveillance program on the continent?
Top U.S. lawmakers indicated Sunday that two unidentified flying objects shot down over Alaska and Canada’s Yukon Territory on Friday and Saturday, respectively, appear to be balloons — though much smaller than the massive Chinese spy craft that traveled over the U.S. two weeks ago before it was shot down off the South Carolina coast.
On top of that, the Pentagon late Saturday evening scrambled fighter jets and the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace after a “radar anomaly” in the skies over Montana, sparking fears of yet another UFO. President Biden gave the order to shoot down the balloon once it was over water and did not pose a safety risk to civilians on the ground. Critics say the decision to wait so long showed weakness and sent a signal to Beijing that America will allow foreign craft to travel through its airspace unimpeded.
But the U.S. and Canada were far more tight-lipped after the incidents Friday and Saturday. On Friday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby revealed the first incident, saying that U.S. planes took down a car-sized object over Alaskan coastal waters. Similarly, U.S. fighter jets acting on orders from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shot down a second craft over the Yukon Territory. The order came after a phone call between Mr. Trudeau and Mr. Biden.
“They believe they were, yes, but much smaller than the first one,” he said, adding that the two craft were flying at about 40,000 feet, which posed a danger to commercial air traffic.Mr. Schumer also said the ordeal has been embarrassing for Beijing.
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