A Chinese balloon over the US was initially headed for the Pacific state of Hawaii, according to officials. The balloon, which was shot down over coastal South Carolina, was originally set to spy on the Aloha State and Guam before it was blown wildly off course, it has been suggested.
The balloon ended up over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, where it crossed into US airspace, through Canada and over the contiguous US. However, it remains unclear why China allowed it to stray so far off course. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the intended destination was Hawaii.
Some officials in the US said they knew the balloon’s intended trajectory over the Pacific as they had been tracking it since it launched in Hainan, an island off southern China.
On January 28, when the balloon approached Alaska, its Chinese operators or other officials may have misread weather conditions which could have taken it quickly out of US airspace.
Additionally, it’s unclear to US officials why the balloon did not initiate a self destruct sequence. It’s possible it didn’t work or that Chinese officials decided to let the balloon carry on, not anticipating America’s diplomatic reaction, according to reporting by the New York Times.
Following the first balloon incident, three other objects have been shot down over US and Canadian airspace. The first was shot down onto sea ice off the coast of Alaska.
The second was downed by a US jet on the orders of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while the third was shot down into the waters of Lake Huron between the two countries.
The US was attempting to recover debris from those wreckages, however it is unknown if military analysts had learned what they were. National Security Council Spokesmen John Kirby previously admitted the UFOs were most likely “benign”.
Later today, Joe Biden is set to give a press conference on the three objects shot down following the balloon incident.
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Taiwan – which China sees as a renegade province and claims as its own – also found the remains of a balloon on Thursday.
The Taiwanese military said it had found the remnants of what it suspected was a weather balloon on a remote island located strategically near the Chinese coast.
It said in a statement: “The preliminary investigation determined that the remains were of a meteorological detecting instrument, which have been collected by the relevant departments for further evaluation.”
Taiwan is a relatively short distance – about 725 miles – from Hainan, the suspected launch location of the initial balloon shot down over America.
