US military downs unknown object over Alaska --- Kyodo News

WASHINGTON — The US military on Friday shot down an unknown high-altitude object off the coast of Alaska on the order of President Joe Biden, the White House said, citing a threat to the safety of civilian flights. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the object, first detected Thursday night, was much smaller than a Chinese surveillance balloon that recently flew over the United States and was taken down by the military off the coast of North Carolina on Saturday. Kirby described the object as "roughly the size of a small car," and said it was brought down by a fighter jet near the U.S.-Canada border after the pilots were able to determine that it was unmanned. He said the object will be recovered from U.S. territorial waters there, which are now frozen. "We're calling this an object, because that's the best description we have. We do not know who owns it, whether it's state-owned or corporate-owned or privately-owned," he said. "We don't understand the full purpose." Speaking separately, Pat Ryder, the Defense Department's press secretary, also said the object's origins remain unknown, adding it was shot down at around 1:45 p.m. after flying at an altitude of about 12 kilometers. Ryder said there is no indication at this time that the object was maneuverable. "We are still assessing what this object was," he said in a press briefing. Asked why the latest shootdown occurred much more quickly than the previous one, Ryder explained that this object was hovering at an altitude that posed a "reasonable threat to civilian air traffic." In contrast, U.S. officials have said that the Chinese balloon was traveling at an altitude of nearly 20 km, well above commercial air traffic. The latest development came a little less than a week after the military brought down the large balloon following its crossing over the continental United States, an episode that has renewed tensions with China and prompted U.S. legislators to pressure Biden for action against the threat posed by Beijing. The Chinese balloon, estimated to have been the size of three buses, was equipped with multiple antennas and solar panels, according to the US officials. They have said it was independently maneuverable and capable of carrying out signals intelligence collection operations. A senior US State Department official said Thursday the Chinese maker of the balloon has a "direct relationship" with the People's Liberation Army. But China has maintained the balloon was being used for civilian weather research purposes and that it was accidentally blown off course by strong winds. A day after the senior official said the United States would consider taking action against the manufacturer, the Biden administration added six Chinese entities linked to Beijing's alleged spy balloon program to an export blacklist.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more