01 May 2023 , 19:40
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The US military is tracking another mysterious balloon after the strange object was caught flying over American soil, according to officials.
The object flew across parts of Hawaii but did not venture into any sensitive areas, officials confirmed.
The US military has been tracking the balloon since last week but has concluded it poses no threat to air traffic or national security.
However, US officials said the balloon could still be shot down if the object nears land.
US officials shot down a balloon in South Carolina in February (Chad Fish/AP/REX/Shutterstock)In addition, the balloon is said to be moving slowly towards Mexico.
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Authorities do not believe the balloon belongs to the Chinese - but they are still looking to establish who the owner of the object is, according to NBC.
The revelation comes after a Chinese spy balloon flew across parts of the US in late January.
US Navy sailors recovered one of the balloons off the coast of Myrtle beach in South Carolina (AP/REX/Shutterstock)The balloon entered US airspace on 28 January but was later shot down on 4 February after passing over the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.
President Joe Biden ordered the object to be shot down amid security fears as the device was able to pick up sensitive information from American military sites.
China had claimed the object was a meteorologist balloon which had strayed off course - with officials labelling the shooting an "overreaction."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “It is irresponsible" and claimed the shooting “may be part of the US side’s information warfare against China.”
China said the balloon had strayed off course (EyePress News/REX/Shutterstock)However, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement back in February the balloon posed "an undue risk."
He revealed: "US military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload."
Mr Biden confirmed the balloons didn't represent a major security breach but revealed if anything comes into the US airspace, the White House will act.
He said: "Look, the total amount of intelligence gathering that’s going on by every country around the world is overwhelming.
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“Anyway, it’s not a major breach. I mean, look ... it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it.”
The US had condemned China for a “brazen violation” of US sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”
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