China’s state-run media claims that an unknown object has been spotted off of its coast and that military units will shoot it down.

A tweet from the government-controlled Global Times did not offer details.

“Local maritime authorities in East China's Shandong Province announced on Sunday that they had spotted an unidentified flying object in waters near the coastal city of Rizhao in the province and were preparing to shoot it down, reminding fishermen to be safe via messages,” the agency announced in a Twitter post.

Local maritime authorities in East China's Shandong Province announced on Sunday that they had spotted an unidentified flying object in waters near the coastal city of Rizhao in the province and were preparing to shoot it down, reminding fishermen to be safe via messages. pic.twitter.com/aQbUntwy4m

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 12, 2023

According to the South China Morning Post, the Qingdao Marine Development Bureau was warning fishing boats to use caution.

Fishing boats were advised to “avoid risks,” according to the Morning Post, which quoted the Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper.

“If debris falls around your boat, please help take pictures as evidence. If conditions allow, please help salvage it,” the message to fishermen said, according to the Morning Post.

The next post we hear about the unidentified flying object off the coast of China will say that, "China says that it belongs to the U.S."#China #ufo #ufotwitter #Balloon

— Dakotah Holcomb (@DakFromWalmart) February 12, 2023

According to The Associated Press, the U.S. Seventh Fleet is currently holding drills in the South China Sea.

The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit were conducting “integrated expeditionary strike force operations, the Seventh Fleet said in a statement, the AP reported.

Claims of an object off the coast of China emerged after a spate of objects have been sighted in North America.

A Chinese spy balloon was shot down on Feb. 4 off the South Carolina coast. What have been described as smaller objects were shot down Friday off the northern coast of Alaska and Saturday over northern Canada.

Although China has insisted the balloon that transited North America was a civilian craft that had gone off course, the Biden administration on Friday took action against five companies and one research institute, according to The Associated Press.

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The U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security said the entities were punished for "their support to China's military modernization efforts, specifically the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) aerospace programs including airships and balloons."

"The PLA is utilizing High Altitude Balloons (HAB) for intelligence and reconnaissance activities," it said, according to the AP.

A senior State Department official said on Thursday that the balloon linked to China “was clearly for intelligence surveillance and inconsistent with the equipment onboard for weather balloons,” according to the U.K. Guardian.

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“It had multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of collecting and geolocating communications,” the official said, according to the Guardian.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.