The nature of the craft was unknown though National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it was far smaller than the Chinese balloon downed off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday. The object was downed off northeastern Alaska, near the border with Canada, in Arctic Ocean waters after being identified overnight. The US has since argued that the Chinese balloon was sent deliberately by China to surveil the US and was a violation of US airspace. Chinese officials have insisted the balloon that was shot down last week was a weather-monitoring device that blew off course. It said the Chinese military is using high-altitude balloons “for intelligence and reconnaissance activities” that go against US national-security interests.
