China spots UFO over its territory, authorities planning to shoot it down: Report

After the US and Canada shot down unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in their airspace, China too spotted one near its territories. A report from The Paper revealed that the UFO was spotted over waters near the Qingdao city and relevant authorities are preparing to destroy it. As a safety measure, fishermen near the coastal city were warned in advance and advised to be on alert amid the call for action. 

Reports of China preparing for action seem in line with its warning of "necessary response" after its alleged spy balloon, which Beijing claimed was for monitoring the weather, was shot down by a F-22 Raptor fighter jet, the US military's most advanced jets. The said 'spy balloon' had floated into the US airspace and was spotted a few days ago over the state of Montana and the subsequent action against it was labelled an 'overreaction' by China. 

Chinese spy balloon shot down. #ChineseSpyBalloon pic.twitter.com/2LNUUf0Qpr

— Devon Pace (@elitedevon)

While the response by the US was hailed as a befitting message to China, many questioned the logic of using a $200 million aircraft to destroy a balloon using the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile which costs $400,000. One week after the symbolic response, the US is now unwilling to return the debris of the 'spy balloon' to China. 

US, Canada respond to airspace breach

Meanwhile, reports of the Chinese preparations comes just hours after US President Joe Biden announced earlier today that his military destroyed another unmanned high-altitude airborne object over northern Canada that had entered its airspace from Alaska. According to the White House, this move followed a phone call between Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

On the other hand, Trudeau himself had ordered the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), to take down a high-altitude object which was spotted over Canadian airspace on Saturday. There were also several reports which revealed that a day earlier, the US had shot down another object flying at the height of about 40,000 feet off the northern coast of Alaska.

(With agency inputs)