The White House has stated that there is no proof linking three flying objects shot out of the sky by the US military over the weekend to alleged Chinese espionage.
Spokesman John Kirby suggested that the objects might be "tied to commercial or research entities and therefore benign.".
Officials from the US and Canada have not yet found or recovered any debris from the three downed aircraft.
Earlier, Beijing charged that the US had "a trigger-happy overreaction.".
Chinese officials have refuted claims that one of their balloons, which was shot down by a US fighter jet earlier this month off the coast of South Carolina, was being used for espionage, claiming instead that it was merely a weather-monitoring airship that had veered off course.
At the daily news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Kirby stated that until the debris is found and analyzed, it will be challenging to ascertain the function or origin of the three other objects that were obliterated over Alaska, Canada, and Michigan.
According to a statement from the White House National Security Council to reporters, "we haven't seen any indication or anything that specifically points to the idea that these three objects were part of the PRC's [People's Republic of China] spying programme or that they were definitively involved in external intelligence collection efforts.".
He continued, "These could be balloons that were simply tied to commercial or research entities and were benign in nature." This was a "leading explanation" that US intelligence was considering.
But he made a point of noting that no business, group, or administration had yet claimed ownership of the items.
The top US general has confirmed that in the most recent strike, which took place over Lake Huron, the first Sidewinder missile fired by a US F-16 warplane missed its target.
The opening attempt was unsuccessful. During a Tuesday visit to Brussels, Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "Second shot hit.".
"We take great care to ensure the airspace is clear and the backdrop is clear up to the maximum effective range of the missile. And in this instance, the missiles land—or rather, the missile landed—harmlessly in Lake Huron's water. ".
Meanwhile, the American response was criticized by a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Wang Wenbin on Tuesday, "many Americans have been wondering what good such expensive action can possibly bring to the US and its taxpayers.".
The FBI is analyzing sensors from the alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the US on February 4 after it was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean on Monday.
The US Northern Command reported that off the coast of South Carolina, search teams discovered "significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces identified.".
Since its launch earlier this month from a base on Hainan Island off the south coast of China, the Chinese balloon has been under surveillance by US intelligence, according to US media.
According to American officials speaking to CBS News, a partner of the BBC, the balloon drifted northward toward Alaska shortly after taking off and then headed for the US islands of Guam and Hawaii.
According to the unnamed officials, its trajectory suggests that it may have been deflected off course by weather, but by the time it reached the US mainland, it was back in Chinese hands.
Tuesday, military leaders briefed the entire US Senate on the situation in a classified setting.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the chamber would look into why the aircraft were not discovered sooner.
The senator responded to reporters, "It's a good question. We have to respond to it. " .
On Tuesday, Romania dispatched fighter aircraft to investigate an aerial object that had entered European airspace.
However, the nation's defense ministry claimed that the pilots failed to find it and gave up on the mission after 30 minutes.
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