Biden wants ‘sharper rules’ on unknown aerial objects

I expect to be speaking with President Xi and I hope we can get to the bottom of this, he said

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country.

The President has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an “interagency team” to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Mr. Biden said the U.S. now believes are most likely “benign” objects that were launched by private companies or research institutions.

Mr. Biden said he hoped the new rules would help “distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.”

“Make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety and security of the American people I will take it down,” he added.

The downing of the Chinese surveillance craft was the first known peacetime shootdown of an unauthorized object in U.S. airspace— a feat repeated three times a week later.

“I expect to be speaking with President Xi and I hope we can get to the bottom of this,” Mr. Biden said, adding, “But I make no apologies for taking down that balloon.”

Mr. Biden said the rules would remain classified so as not to “give a roadmap to our enemies to try to evade our defenses.”