Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said UK Fighter jets are on standby to shoot down Chinese spy balloons if they are spotted in British airspace.
The United Kingdom is conducting a security check after four mysterious and unidentified objects were spotted in Canadian and U.S. airspace.
Prime Minister Sunak said,
“I want people to know that we will do everything it takes to keep the country safe. We have something called the ‘quick reaction alert force’ which involves Typhoon planes that are kept on 24/7 readiness to police our airspace.”
U.S. officials revealed that the fourth object was shot down over Lake Huron on Sunday. The U.S. military has not provided any explanation or details of the objects. They have also not ruled out extra-terrestrial involvement.
The unidentified object was described as an “octagonal structure” with strings attached to it. The object was shot down by F-16 fighter jets which had been flying across the Great Lakes region at 20,000ft. Reportedly, 20,000ft altitude is perilous to a civilian aircraft.
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PM Sunak’s spokesman commented: “He is more focused on terrestrial issues”, when asked whether the PM believed in the existence of extraterrestrial life.
The Prime Minister did not reveal details about national security matters. However, he assured the public that their country will be safe. He iterated,
“We’re in constant touch with our allies and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep our country safe.”
Ben Wallace, the defense secretary said,
“The UK and her allies will review what these airspace intrusions mean for our security. This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse.”
Mr. Wallace maintained that he would have reacted the same the Pentagon did.
The Chinese government in response to an allegation of spying insisted that the first balloon shot down on 4 February by the US was being used solely for meteorological purposes.
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Chair of the Commons foreign affairs select committee said: “British airspace is protected by an exceptionally quick reaction force, which has proved itself very capable against unknown and hostile aircraft.
Alicia Kearns further added,
“The US will share with us and Five Eyes allies its conclusions on the capabilities of the Chinese balloons, and at that point, an internal review of our ability to identify, track, disrupt and destroy these balloons will be undertaken.”
Tobias Ellwood, the Conservative chairman of the Commons defense select committee termed China’s alleged spying as “exploiting the West’s weakness.”
Richard Holden, transport minister believes that Chinese spy balloons may have already flown over the UK.
