China has high-altitude balloon programme linked to army, White House says
The White House has determined that China has a “high-altitude balloon programme” for intelligence gathering.
It comes as tensions are mounting between the US and China after the US shot down a fourth unidentified object over North American airspace.
It was downed over Lake Huron in Michigan at 2.42pm local time on Sunday on President Joe Biden’s orders and came after objects were shot down in Alaska and Canada on Friday and Saturday.
John Kirby, the national security council coordinator for strategic communications, said on Monday that the US is still working to “better understand” foreign intelligence collection efforts.
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Moment ‘spy balloon’ is shot down off Carolina coast
“We were able to determine that China has a high-altitude balloon programme for intelligence that’s connected to the People’s Liberation Army,” he said at a news conference.
He says the balloons have provided “limited capabilities” but in the future as technology advances, it could become “more valuable to them”.
Mr Kirby says because the US cannot “definitively” identify what the risks of the balloons are, they reacted out of “an abundance of caution”.
Mr Kirby said the objects were not manned and there were no signs they had manoeuvring or propulsion capabilities.
He added: “We did assess that their altitudes were considerably lower than the Chinese high-altitude balloon and did pose a threat to civilian commercial air traffic.
“And while we have no specific reason to suspect that they were conducting surveillance of any kind, we couldn’t rule that out.”
He said the missions were “conducted successfully and safely”.
Efforts are under way to recover what remains of the objects to understand what they are, but the ones in Alaska and Canada are in remote terrain, making it more difficult to find them.
Outside of recovery operations, NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) is continuing to monitor the situation, Mr Kirby said.
‘No indication of aliens’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, also addressing the media at the news conference, emphasised that the American people should hear “there is no indication of aliens” from the White House.
She joked with the journalists gathered for the briefing: “I loved ET the movie, but I am just going to leave it there.”
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‘There’s no indication of aliens’
Read more:
China claims US balloons flew over its airspace ‘more than 10 times over the past year’
US on heightened state of alert over flying objects
Spy balloons and flying objects: A timeline of what and where fighter jets have shot down
Elsewhere, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters from Brussels that the “safety and security” of the American people is President Joe Biden’s “number one priority”.
He said: “I want to reassure Americans that these objects do not present a military threat to anyone on the ground. They do, however, present a risk to civil aviation, and potentially an intelligence collection threat. And we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
He added that the US has not been able to “definitively assess what these recent objects are”.
‘Very serious situation’
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the invasion of North American airspace is “a very serious situation” and is being taken seriously.
He said the issue will be part of discussions when he meets US President Biden.
Mr Trudeau said search and recovery efforts for the object shot down by a US fighter jet over Yukon territory on his orders on Saturday were under way, but the weather was posing some challenges in the search for debris.
“Obviously there is some sort of pattern in there, the fact we are seeing this in a significant degree over the past week is a cause for interest and close attention,” he said.
What we know so far about the flying objects:
- On 4 February, the first object, described by US officials as a suspected Chinese “spy” balloon, was shot down off the Carolina coast;
- On 10 February, a second object, described as being “about the size of a small car” was spotted by NORAD near Alaska and downed;
- Just a day later, on 11 February, a third object, again unidentified, was tracked entering US airspace over Alaska before drifting over Canada and was shot down;
- On Sunday, US officials confirmed another unidentified object had been shot down by fighter jets over Lake Huron on the US-Canada border near Michigan;
- A US F-16 jet fired a missile at about 20,000ft at the latest object amid concerns that its altitude and flightpath could endanger civilian planes;
- A senior US official, speaking anonymously, described the latest object as having “an octagonal structure with strings hanging off but no discernible payload”;
- Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said teams were searching for the object shot down over his country.
Rudy Giuliani has been hospitalised following a car crash in New Hampshire, a spokesperson for the former New York City mayor said.
Mr Giuliani suffered “a fractured thoracic vertebrae, multiple lacerations and contusions, as well as injuries to his left arm and lower leg” when his vehicle was struck from behind while driving on a highway near Manchester on Saturday evening, according to Michael Ragusa, Mr Giuliani’s head of security.
“He sustained injuries but is in good spirits and recovering tremendously,” Mr Ragusa said in a statement on X, adding: “This was not a targeted attack.”
Mr Giuliani was in a rental car and “no one knew it was him”, according to Mr Ragusa.
His head of security said the 81-year-old had been “flagged down by a woman who was the victim of a domestic violence incident” and contacted police on her behalf. The crash shortly after was “random and unrelated” to the domestic violence incident, Mr Ragusa said.
Rudy Giuliani attended Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony in January. Pic: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via Reuters
Mr Giuliani, who worked as an attorney for Donald Trump in his failed efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, is expected to be released from hospital in a few days.
His son, Andrew Giuliani, thanked people for reaching out after hearing about his father’s accident, writing on X: “Your prayers mean the world.”
“As a son, I can tell you that I’m honored to have a Dad that I can call the toughest SOB I’ve ever seen,” he added.
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US
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
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The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
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