US Government Also Considers Downed Aircraft in Alaska and Canada as 'Balloons'

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of the Democratic Party revealed that the U.S. government recently judged the flying objects shot down over Alaska and Canadian airspace to be balloons.

In an interview with ABC News' "This Week" on the 12th (local time), Schumer confirmed this after being briefed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan the day before. He explained, "The government thinks both are balloons," adding that they are "much smaller" than the Chinese reconnaissance balloon shot down off the U.S. East Coast on the 4th.

The U.S. government discovered a high-altitude object over Alaska on the 10th and shot it down with a fighter jet. Then, on the 11th, a flying object was detected in Canadian airspace and was shot down by a U.S. fighter jet. Schumer said the two balloons were found at an altitude of 40,000 ft (about 12,000 m) over Alaska and Canadian airspace, posing a risk to civilian aircraft flying at that altitude, so they were immediately shot down.

The U.S. government has not yet announced the nature of the two objects. Local media expect that the government will not take a definitive stance until it analyzes the debris.

Along with this, Schumer warned that the government has obtained tremendous information by analyzing China's balloons, saying, "China's lies have been exposed, and China has suffered a huge blow. They will probably have to stop their reconnaissance balloon program." Earlier, the U.S. government stated that China had sent reconnaissance balloons to more than 40 countries worldwide for intelligence gathering and that the Chinese military is likely behind it.

As Chinese reconnaissance balloons and unidentified flying objects were consecutively confirmed in U.S. airspace, authorities have also taken flight measures. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reportedly imposed and then lifted flight restrictions on civilian aircraft over Lake Michigan airspace near the U.S.-Canada border on the same day, according to major foreign media. The FAA also temporarily closed and then reopened civilian airspace over Havre, Montana, near the Canadian border the day before.