US fighter jet shoots down unidentified object over Canada

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he ordered the downing of an unidentified object that was flying over the country on Saturday (11). The American Aerospace Defense Command shot down the artifact, which at the time of the crash was in Yukon, in northwest Canada.

“Canadian and US aircraft were designated, and a US F-22 successfully fired on the object,” Trudeau said. “I spoke with President Joe Biden this afternoon. Forces Canada will now collect and analyze the object’s debris.”

It is the third case of its kind in the region this month. Last week, Washington shot down a Chinese balloon over the coast of South Carolina with a fighter jet. Earlier, the object flew over Billings, Montana, where a military base with intercontinental ballistic missile silos is located. For the US, the object served espionage, for Beijing, the item carried out research, especially meteorological.

This Friday (10), a new high-altitude object flying over US territory was shot down. According to the US government, the item, which passed through the state of Alaska, was detected on Thursday night (9) and was flying at an altitude of 12 km – therefore, it posed risks to civil aviation.

The episode heightened the already heated tensions between China and the United States and resulted in the postponement of the visit of the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, responsible for American diplomacy, to Beijing.

A series of recent episodes has contributed to deteriorating Sino-US relations. The expansion of the US military presence in Southeast Asia, criticized by the Chinese, for example, takes place simultaneously with China’s threats against Taiwan, an island that Beijing treats as a rebel province and which, therefore, must be integrated into its mainland territory. .

On Thursday (9), the Chinese government classified Biden’s lines about Chinese leader Xi Jinping as “totally irresponsible”. “Can you think of any other world leaders who would trade places with Xi Jinping? It’s not a joke. I can’t think of any,” the US president said in an interview with PBS NewsHour. “This man has huge problems. He also has a lot of potential, but so far his economy is not working very well.”

On the same day, China is said to have declined a call from US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. He wanted to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, after the balloon was shot down. The Chinese Ministry of Defense justified the decision by saying that the measure was irresponsible and did not create a climate “conducive to dialogue”.

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