Puzzlement, fear and in some political quarters growing anger reigned as demands mounted for President Joe Biden's administration to explain not just the origin of the objects but their purpose, potential threat, and number.
It's not clear whether the three latest unidentified flying objects -- shot down Friday over Alaska, Saturday over Canada, Sunday over Michigan's Lake Huron -- have any connection to a much bigger white balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic on February 4.
The US military, which tracked that balloon as it crossed much of the country, says it was a sophisticated, high-altitude Chinese spying device -- one of a fleet of such craft allegedly floating around the globe. Recovery teams are scouring the seabed to pull up the debris for analysis.
China insists that the balloon, which was big enough to be visible to ordinary Americans from the ground, was merely blown off course while collecting weather data. Chinese authorities also admitted that a balloon spotted over Latin America was one of theirs -- in this case a civilian device for flight tests.
On Monday, Beijing sought to turn the tables by accusing Washington of deploying more than 10 balloons into Chinese airspace over the last year.
"It's not uncommon as well for the United States to illegally enter the airspace of other countries," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a briefing. The alleged flights were made "without any approval from Chinese authorities."
At the White House, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson quickly called China's allegations "false" and said that China's high-altitude spying program has violated airspace of "40 countries across five continents."
The State Department said China was "scrambling to do damage control" and that the communist government "has failed to offer any credible explanations for its intrusion into our airspace."
Over the weekend, Chinese state-affiliated media reported that an unidentified flying object had been spotted off the country's east coast and that the military was preparing to shoot it down.
Beijing on Monday declined to comment on that report, referring journalists to the defense ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.
- Questions and few answers -
In Washington, the extraordinary events are fueling already intense suspicion about China across both the Democratic and Republican parties -- a trend likely to grow as the 2024 presidential election approaches.
The diplomatic fallout has already been substantial, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceling a rare visit to Beijing.
Republican lawmakers Monday piled pressure on the White House to give answers about the scope and nature of the threat.
"How many more unidentified objects in US airspace before the Biden Administration gives us some -- ANY -- answers?" tweeted Republican Representative Mark Green.
Officials have issued little information about the three latest objects, other than to say they were much smaller than the confirmed Chinese balloon destroyed February 4. That was about the size of three buses, while the new targets were more car-sized.
"We're going to do everything we can to recover them," White House spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC on Monday. "As soon as we do that, we'll learn more."
The unidentified flying object shot down Sunday over Michigan was described by officials as an octagonal structure with strings hanging off it. However there was no information about how it was guided or propelled.
Canada's defense minister, Anita Anand, told CNN the object shot down over Canada by a US plane appeared to be "cylindrical" but said no more information would be given until "we gather the debris."
Amid often wild speculation, the US Northern Command's General Glen VanHerck was asked if the government could be sure these were not extraterrestrial craft and he replied: "I haven't ruled out anything at this point."
Why such a sudden spate of sightings is another unanswered question.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Melissa Dalton said Sunday that this may be because the Pentagon has been "enhancing" its radars -- meaning smaller objects are now visible.
Here are the Chinese balloon-linked companies hit by US blacklisting
Beijing (AFP) Feb 13, 2023 -
The United States has blacklisted six Chinese entities linked to Beijing's military modernisation efforts, in a growing diplomatic spat centred on China's use of alleged spy balloons.
The US Commerce Department added the companies to a so-called Entity List last week, restricting them from obtaining US technologies in a move blasted by Beijing on Monday as "illegal unilateral sanctions".
Washington shot down a giant Chinese balloon that passed through US airspace this month, and has accused Beijing of running a "fleet" of spy airships spanning five continents.
Here's a closer look at the six companies targeted on Friday:
- Beijing Nanjiang Aerospace Technology -
Established in 2015, Beijing Nanjiang is controlled by a subsidiary of Shanghai-listed real estate company Deluxe Family Co Ltd, which also invests in materials and robotics projects.
The state-run Science and Technology Daily in 2015 hailed the firm's development of a large silver helium airship as the country's first "new near-space platform with capabilities for both military and surveillance use".
State media said the company's steerable, reusable and continuously powered airship was equipped with broadband communications and "high-definition observation" gear.
- China Electronics Technology Group Corporation 48th Research Institute -
Part of a state-owned IT giant, the research institute specialises in building power systems and solar energy components, as well as semiconductor equipment.
The institute has worked to develop flexible solar power cells suitable for both military and civilian aircraft, the China National Space Administration said in a document in 2017.
Parent company China Electronics Technology Group Corporation also funds Hikvision, a surveillance camera maker that has been implicated in intensified monitoring of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
- Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co -
Founded by military aircraft expert Wu Zhe, the group specialises in research and development of stealth aircraft technologies.
Eagles Men is "devoted to becoming a benchmark business for China's (strategy of) military-civil fusion", according to the company's profile page on the official Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics website.
The company in 2013 filed a patent for making airship skins stronger.
Wu told state media in 2019 that his team had developed a stratospheric airship able to "fly around the globe".
- Dongguan Lingkong Remote Sensing Technology Co -
Set up in 2019, the company counts among its investors a branch of the state-run Beihang University, as well as Eagles Men Aviation.
Public records show Dongguan Lingkong has received licences from local market supervisors to conduct research on remote sensing technology, which allows aircraft to detect conditions on the ground from a high altitude.
- Guangzhou Tian-Hai-Xiang Aviation Technology Co -
The company was originally established by the Chinese military to develop "vehicle-mounted unmanned reconnaissance aircraft", according to its official website.
Specialising in surveillance drones, the company was reorganised in 2006 with its current name and under the control of military veteran Li Yuzhuang.
Tian-Hai-Xiang says it has received multiple defence science awards, with its website boasting that the company was "the first unit in the domestic drone industry to equip our military's first digitalised troops".
- Shanxi Eagles Men Aviation Science and Technology Group Co -
A wholly owned subsidiary of Eagles Men Aviation, the company was set up in 2012 with a focus on chemical products, according to Chinese business database Tianyancha.
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