Themacforums, WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 – Biden Plans Speech on Balloon, Unidentified Objects. According to two people familiar with the conversation, President Joe Biden intends to speak in the fullest detail yet on Thursday about the high-altitude Chinese balloon and the other three items that were brought down by American fighter jets.
The speech was anticipated to be on Thursday, according to the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Although the exact time was unclear, Biden, 80, is set to receive a physical checkup at Walter Reed hospital in the morning.
Legislators have pressed Biden to elaborate on the recent flyovers by unexplained objects, which have perplexed many Americans.
He hasn’t spoken anything in public about the circumstance, leaving it to White House aides to address it.
The Chinese balloon was described as a weather balloon by Beijing while the United States said it was used for surveillance.
On Thursday, when questioned about Biden’s anticipated comments, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry once more described the downed balloon as an “unmanned civilian airship” and said that its entry into American airspace was only an “isolated” event.
At a routine press conference, spokesman Wang Wenbin advised reporters that the U.S. “should be willing to meet China in the middle, manage differences and appropriately handle isolated, unexpected incidents to avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments; and promote the return of U.S.-China relations to a healthy and stable development track.”
Since the 200-foot Chinese balloon was shot down by an American fighter jet on February 4, three further items have been downed over difficult-to-reach regions: two in the frigid North, and one whose debris fell into Lake Huron.
The idea that the three items were connected to a commercial or other benign purpose is being considered, according to John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokeswoman, on Tuesday.
He claimed that the origin of the three objects was still a mystery to the United States.
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, has been requested by Vice President Biden to lead a task force of relevant agencies in developing future policies for dealing with unexplained objects.
This week, it is expected to produce rules outlining the factors that should be taken into account before shooting down an unidentified object.
According to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, the Chinese balloon that was shot down after reaching the continental United States initially had a trajectory that would have taken it over Guam and Hawaii but was blown off course.
