President Joe Biden said the object shot down over Lake Huron last weekend was likely owned by a private company conducting research, and is not tied to China or any other country.
Biden spoke for the first time on the four aerial objects shot down around the U.S. in the last two weeks, including the object shot down over Lake Huron last Sunday. The U.S. does believe the first balloon, over Montana, was from China. But the other three -- in Canada, Alaska and over Lake Huron -- were unrelated.
Recommended Videos
Biden said the U.S. doesn’t know exactly what the objects are yet, but said there’s no evidence to suggest any of them were related to China’s spy balloon program. They were most likely “tied to private companies” or research institutions, he said.
Biden said he hoped the new rules would help “distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.”
“Make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people I will take it down,” he added.
More: Biden wants ‘sharper rules’ on unknown aerial objects
The China balloon has escalated tensions between the U.S. and China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to China last week. Blinken travels Thursday to the Munich Security Conference amid speculation he might use the opportunity to meet top Chinese foreign policy official Wang Yi who will also be attending the conference.
“I expect to be speaking with President Xi and I hope we can get to the bottom of this,” Biden said, adding, “But I make no apologies for taking down that balloon.”
The White House said earlier this week that there’s also no indication of aliens or extra terrestrials.
Related: Official: US, Canada recovering debris from Lake Huron to learn more about downed aerial object