The alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down near South Carolina last week was originally meant to fly over Guam and then Hawaii, according to new reports from the White House.
The Chinese government has previously claimed that the object in question was a weather balloon that drifted off course, according to BBC.
Three other objects were shot down between February 11 and February 12. One was shot down near the coast of Alaska, one was shot down over the Yukon territory in Canada, and the third was shot down over Lake Huron, near the border between the two countries.
After recovering the wreckage of the first balloon shot down on February 4, the U.S. government claimed it discovered “key sensors” amid the debris, reported Sky News.
The White House does not currently know the purpose of the other three objects but has suggested they were “balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose” and there is “no indication” they are meant for surveillance, as reported by Forbes.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin did not answer questions about the first balloon’s initial destination. During a briefing on the situation, he did threaten retaliation against the U.S. for shooting ådown the balloon, as The Dallas Express reported.
“The US has abused force, overreacted, escalated the situation, and used this as a pretext to illegally sanction Chinese companies and institutions,” said Wenbin, as reported by The New York Post. “China is firmly opposed to this and will take countermeasures against relevant US entities that undermine China’s sovereignty and security in accordance with the law.”
Other countries have reported balloons and possible surveillance objects in their territory as well. Japan recently threatened to take action against unmanned vehicles that have entered its airspace, per Sky News. Taiwan’s military also said it had found remnants of what it believes to be a Chinese weather balloon.
“The preliminary investigation determined that the remains were of a meteorological detecting instrument, which have been collected by the relevant departments for further evaluation,” said the Taiwanese army in a statement, per Sky News.