Casting aside initial aspersions over the Chinese balloons that were shot down by US jets over suspicion of spying on American military sites, the White House on Tuesday said its intelligence officials believe that the balloons were being flown for “benign or commercial” use.

No conclusive evidence to prove Chinese balloons were used for spying, says White House

The Chinese balloon saga and unidentified objects in US airspace: Here's all you need to know

A US State Department official said on Thursday that the Chinese balloon shot down by American jets over the Atlantic Ocean last weekend had antennas likely capable of collecting communication signals and other sensitive information.

Chinese balloon 'clearly' for spying, had antennas likely capable of collecting communications: US

China has used spy balloons, similar to the one recently spotted in the United States airspace, to allegedly spy on other countries, including India and Japan, a report published by The Washington Post claimed.

Did China operate 'balloons' to spy on several countries, including India and Japan?

The suspected Chinese "spy balloon" in the airspace of the United States escalated the tensions between the US and China. Beijing said that it was a civilian "airship" which was used for research, mainly meteorological purposes.

Does the Chinese balloon incident highlight failure of US military?

The suspected Chinese spy balloon which entered the United States’ airspace before being shot down by Washington was approximately 200 feet tall, while the payload under it weighed a couple of thousand pounds, said Air Force General Glen VanHerck, on Monday (February 5).

Chinese balloon was 200 feet tall with thousands of pounds of payload: US Air Force General

China has condemned the US for shooting down its balloon on the suspicion of snooping on sensitive military sites, saying that the move has "seriously impacted and damaged" relations between the two countries.

‘Seriously impacted relations’: China’s rebuke to US shooting down suspected spy balloon

The Pentagon said on Friday (February 3) that a Chinese balloon was seen flying over Latin America also, a day after a similar balloon was seen in the United States skies.

After US, another Chinese balloon seen flying over Latin America: Pentagon