Chinese authorities reportedly spotted an unidentified flying object over the waters near a major naval base and were preparing to shoot it down, according to officials.
Local maritime authorities in east China’s Shandong province said they spotted an “unidentified flying object” in waters near the coastal city of Rizhao, according to the state-run Global Times Sunday reported.
A visitor poses for photos on the coast of Qingdao, Shandong province, China, following an oil spill in the Yellow Sea caused by a collision between the tanker A Symphony and the bulk carrier Sea Justice off Qingdao port, 29 April 2021. (REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins)
Other media reported that the UFO was sighted near Qingdao, which is home to the Jianggezhuang Naval Base, an important naval base of the People’s Liberation Army.
A Maritime Development Authority official told The Paper, another Chinese news outlet, that “the relevant authorities” were preparing to shoot down the object.
RON JOHNSON CALLS BIDEN “COMPROMISSION” ON CHINESE POLICY BETWEEN CONTROL OVER SPY MEANS: “DETACHED FROM REALITY”
The reported sighting comes days after US fighter jets shot down unidentified objects over Canada and remote Alaska. A week earlier, the US military shot a suspected Chinese spy balloon, the size of three school buses, off the coast of South Carolina after it crossed into the United States.
The Biden administration said it was used for surveillance. China says it has participated in a meteorological research mission.
A balloon flies in the sky above Billings, Montana, USA, February 1, 2023 in this image obtained from social media. (Chase Doak/via Reuters)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that the United States believes the unidentified objects downed were balloons, albeit smaller ones than those downed over the Atlantic Ocean.
Schumer said teams are recovering the debris from the objects and will work to determine where it came from. Those shot down on Friday and Saturday were smaller and flew about 40,000 feet lower, within the airspace occupied by commercial flights, compared to about 60,000 feet on the former.
HOUSE SURVEILLANCE CHAIRMAN: CHINA HAS ‘A MASSIVE SPY RING’ IN US, SAYS THE PROBLEM IS MUCH BIGGER THAN THE SPY BALLOON
“The bottom line is that we didn’t know about these balloons until a few months ago,” Schumer said. “It’s crazy that we didn’t know. … Now they’re learning so much more. And the military and intelligence are laser-focused on first gathering and accumulating information, then coming up with a full analysis.
These incidents have led to an increase in tension between Beijing and Washington. Over the weekend, the US Navy and Marine Corps held joint exercises in the South China Sea, virtually all of which China claims as its own and strongly opposes other nations’ military activity in the disputed waters.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The United States does not take any official position on sovereignty in the South China Sea, but argues that freedom of navigation and overflight must be preserved. Several times a year it sends ships past fortified Chinese outposts in the Spratly Islands, prompting furious protests from Beijing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
