The White House has said its decision to shoot down three objects flying over North American airspace this weekend was “out of an abundance of caution”.
The objects posed a threat to commercial flights and were downed in the “best interests” of the American people, spokesman John Kirby said.
The US is scrutinizing its airspace more closely since the recent incursion of a suspected spy balloon from China but Beijing has alleged that Washington is flying its own balloons over China.
China’s foreign ministry said yesterday that the US had flown balloons into its airspace more than 10 times in the past year but Mr. Kirby denied the allegation and that they were not flying surveillance balloons over China. END