Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday suggested that there is some sort of a connection between the four aeriel objects shot down in recent days over North America.
“Obviously there is some sort of pattern in there — the fact we are seeing this in a significant degree over the past week is a cause for interest and close attention,” Mr Trudeau told reporters during a press conference in the Yukon capital of Whitehorse, per Reuters.
Mr Trudeau’s statement contradicts the US’s public stance, voiced by National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Monday, that there is no reason as of now to believe that the three flying taken down in recent days are in any way connected to US shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon on February 4.
The intrigue over objects flying in American and Canadian airspace has been building for more than two weeks. The US identified what it has alleged was a Chinese spy balloon flying across the country in late January.
The US brought down that balloon off the South Carolina coast two Saturdays ago. Since then, three other objects have been identified and downed. On Friday, an object was shot down near Deadhorse, Alaska. On Saturday, an object was destroyed over Yukon, and on Sunday, American fighter jets shot down an octagonal object flying Lake Huron in the Great Lakes region.
No government official has thus far offered a theory of what those three objects are. The US State Department said over the weekend that the objects shot down over Alaska and Yukon “did not closely resemble the PRC balloon,” though it has not offered further information. Mr Kirby said that while there is currently no link between the three objects and the alleged spy balloon, the US has not yet determined why any of three objects were flying or what they were doing.
The lack of concrete information about the objects comes as the US and China have traded barbs about the alleged spy balloon, with the Biden administration on Monday offering more detail on the Chinese spying operation it alleges the balloon’s flight was part of and blaming their predecessors for not identifying it while they were in the White House.
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also emphasised that the objects do not have otherworldly origins.
“I just wanted to make sure we address this from the White House: I know there have been questions and concerns about this but there is no — again no — indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity with these recent takedowns,” she said.
In his remarks to reporters, Mr Trudeau offered few concrete details but was more willing to make a connection between the downed objects. He said he would discuss the issue further with Mr Biden at a scheduled meeting in March.
Mr Trudeau also said that Canadian officials are still working to identify and collect the refuse from the object downed over Yukon. He noted that the region’s typically inhospitable winter weather is presenting challenges; the high temperature in Whitehorse over the next several days is expected to hover around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with snow showers expected as well.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was responsible for bringing down the object over Yukon, with Mr Trudeau confirming that there were both American and Canadian fighter jets involved in the operation.
