The United States military shot down another unidentified flying object above Michigan's Lake Huron.

The Defense Department (DOD) said that President Joe Biden ordered an F-16 to fire an AIM-9X missile at an object flying about 20,000 feet over Lake Huron shortly before 2:42 p.m.

4th Unidentified Object Flew Over US Territory

The DOD stated that the flight path and altitude "raised concerns, particularly the possibility that it may endanger civil aviation."

It was the third time in as many days and the fourth since February 4 that a "flying object of unknown origin" was shot down in North America. Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Michigan) verified that "another 'object' has been deactivated above Lake Huron."

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan) tweeted that Air Force and National Guard pilots had "downed" the item. According to Fox News, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) reported that the Pentagon informed his office "about the measures they took to shoot down yet another 'foreign object' over Lake Huron."

On Sunday morning, US and Canadian officials blocked certain airspace above the lake as planes scrambled to intercept and identify the item. In the past week, the United States has shot down four objects over North America, the first being a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.

Previously, the White House stated that the unidentified objects once shot down over Alaska and Canada did not resemble the A National Security Council spokesperson said they were "much smaller" but added, "We will not definitively characterize them until we recover the debris, which we are currently working to do."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada stated that crews searched for the downed item over his nation. Sky News reported that it was shot down Saturday over the sparsely inhabited Yukon area in the northwest by an American F-22 stealth aircraft.

The Pentagon reported that NORAD discovered the item Friday night above the Alaskan coast. After the thing crossed the boundary, jets from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson were joined by Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft.

Beijing acknowledged that the balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina originated in China but said it was a "civilian airship." It claimed to be doing meteorological and other scientific investigations after straying into US airspace.

A Republican lawmaker stated on Sunday that the Chinese surveillance balloon that flew over the United States earlier this month was meant to "humiliate" the United States ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's upcoming high-stakes summit in Beijing.

Per NY Post, Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin said, "I don't think it was a coincidence that it was scheduled to coincide with Secretary Blinken's arrival, but we don't have confirmation yet."

After the Chinese surveillance balloon was found, the Biden administration postponed Blinken's trip to Beijing, where he was scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping the next week, on February 3.

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US Steps Up Military Efforts in South China Sea

This week, the United States stepped up its military operations in the South China Sea, heightening tensions with China. The exercises come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing after a spy balloon was shot down last month.

China has criticized the government's action for shooting down a "civilian aircraft," as it describes it. China said today that an unidentified object was spotted near the seaside city of Rizhao and that the military intended to shoot it down, as per The Sun.

Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe has reportedly declined to discuss the balloon with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. According to the Pentagon, the shot-down balloon was part of a Chinese surveillance program that has been ongoing for years.

Balloons have recently sailed across five continents, generating international controversy. Ben Wallace stated that satellites floating high in the sky is "not uncommon" and has been the case for decades.

The United States has no formal stance on sovereignty in the South China Sea but insists that freedom of navigation and overflight must be maintained. In November, China released photographs of heavily militarized military islands in the South China Sea, causing concern among neighboring nations.

The surveillance images depict islands with lethal weaponry, such as missile airplanes, aviation hangars, and spy planes. Previously, Chinese President Xi Jinping denied intentions to militarize islands in the South China Sea.

However, photographs taken in 2018 revealed that China was constructing massive military outposts on the islands, complete with radar stations, communications towers, fast assault boats, and helipads.

In the past decade, South China Sea conflicts have escalated rapidly. China seized a shoal from the Philippines in 2012, had a severe standoff with Vietnam over oil in 2014, and had a three-way dispute with Malaysia and Vietnam in 2019 over deploying a Malaysian drillship into the area.

In recent years, Taiwan has spotted scores of Chinese military balloon flights in its airspace, stoking worries of a Beijing strike.

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