President Joe Biden on Thursday spoke publicly for the first time since three unidentified objects were shot down out of the sky in the last week, saying he’s directed his team to come up with ‘sharper rules’ for addressing similar, slow-moving objects in U.S. airspace.
He added that the three devices are likely not part of China's spy program but rather benign, according to the intelligence community -- “most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions, studying weather or conducting other scientific research.”
He also announced he would soon speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about his country’s surveillance balloon detected over the U.S. last week, which officials believe was spying on sensitive military sites.
The president has faced pressure to speak on the aerial objects, as administration officials’ statements in recent days have prompted more questions and offered little detail. Debris from the objects has also yet to be found or recovered.
The downing of four objects within eight days is unprecedented in peacetime. It began when the jetliner-size China spy balloon was detected above the U.S. in late January and floated above the country for a week before the U.S. sank it off the coast of South Carolina.
Adjustments to make military radar more sensitive after the balloon led to the discovery of the three additional objects, officials said. President Biden ordered them shot down by F-22 fighter jets because they flew around the same altitude as commercial flights.
But on Thursday he implied there would soon be a different approach moving forward.
“I've directed my team to come back to me with sharper rules for how we will deal with these unidentified objects moving forward, distinguishing between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks … and those that do not,” he said.
“But make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people I will take it down.”
On Thursday, he outlined immediate changes the U.S. will make after the incidents: establish a better inventory of uncrewed objects in U.S. airspace, improve detection, update regulations for launching and maintaining uncrewed objects in U.S. airspace and also help establish global norms.
Biden was firm that he did not regret shooting down China’s balloon, either.
“We shot it down, sending a clear message, a clear message. The violation of our sovereignty is unacceptable. We will act to protect our country and we did,” he said.
The president added that the balloon’s components will help the U.S. assess China’s capabilities through what officials have described as a large-scale, aerial spy program spanning 40 countries.
Yet competition with China – not conflict –remains the goal, he noted.
The object shot down over Lake Huron on Sunday was thought to have landed in very deep water, and recovery operations were underway. U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets.
An object shot down Saturday over Canada’s Yukon was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon – the size of three school buses – hit by a missile Feb. 4.
A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.