US President Joe Biden emphatically said that he does not regret shooting down a suspected China Spy Balloon in international waters.
The POTUS remarked that the China balloon was employed for spying, but three other unidentified flying objects shot down above North America were unlikely foreign espionage equipment.
President Biden noted that the United States would do a better job of detecting such flying objects.
Biden said Thursday at the White House that he will soon talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the incident. He hopes that they will "get to the bottom" of the China Spy Balloon controversy, according to the BBC.
"But I make no apologies for taking down that balloon," Biden said on Thursday, but also emphasized that the US is "not looking for a new cold war."
Beijing has said that the balloon flew off route while gathering meteorological data and it was not a China Spy Balloon.
Biden regurgitated US authorities' claim that the balloon, which flew above the territory at 40,000 ft. (12,000 m.) before being shot down by a fighter aircraft over the Atlantic, was utilized for surveillance.
President Biden said that his staff has been tasked with developing "sharper rules" for dealing with these mysterious objects in the future, differentiating between those that likely pose security and safety threats and those that do not, per CNN.
Once completed, those secret criteria will be presented to Congress.
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White House Debunks China Spy Balloon Claim
Meanwhile, the White House has refuted a social media post claiming that President Biden sought China's permission to shoot the Chinese balloon down.
One Feb. 4 Facebook post outlines President Joseph Biden's decision to shoot down a Chinese surveillance balloon.
"The Chinese Balloon has been shot down after Biden called the Chinese President and asked for his permission to shoot it down," the post reads, which was written by comedian Terrence K. Williams, per USA Today.
The post was shared over 400 times in only 10 days and was taken seriously by the commentators, who responded promptly.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the allegation "is false" as there is no proof that Biden sought approval from Chinese President Xi Jinping before shooting down the China Spy Balloon.
Read also: Biden: Spy Balloon Not From China
