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That's all for our coverage on the unidentified objects that entered US airspace.

Earlier, John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said China had a "high-altitude balloon programme" linked to its army.

And US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the spy balloons "present a risk to civil aviation".

The White House also said there was "no indication of aliens".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is considering a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, sources have told Reuters.

Earlier this month, Mr Blinken postponed a planned trip to Beijing due to what the US said was the unacceptable violation of its sovereignty and airspace by a Chinese surveillance balloon later downed off the coast of South Carolina.

The balloon flight raised questions about when the two countries, both eager to inject stability into turbulent relations, might next conduct high-level meetings.

Now, one US official has told Reuters on condition of anonymity that a meeting between Mr Blinken and Mr Yi in Munich was possible.

A second source familiar with US plans also said it was possible but that nothing had been confirmed.

Earlier this evening, a panel of experts answered questions on the flying objects shot down over North America.

It came after the White House said that China has a "high-altitude balloon programme" linked to its army.

You can watch our special programme here...

By James Matthews, US correspondent

"Balloongate" is a compelling story for a number of reasons, not least the balloon itself.

The American public is locked onto commentary of its journey as it proceeds over the continent.

The Pentagon described it as "manoeuvrable", indicating it was under someone's control.

If the Chinese are steering it, where will they fly it, where will it land and who will take possession of it?

Read more here...

Fellow at Stanford University and the American Enterprise Institute, Dr Oriana Skylar Mastro, has been speaking to Sky News on the unidentified objects that entered US airspace. 

Ms Mastro said she "did not think this was the first time the US had tracked or sensed these types of balloons" but it had now made its way into the national discourse - hence the "increased focus."

On 4 February, the first object, described by US officials as a suspected Chinese "spy" balloon, was shot down off the Carolina coast.

Asked if it would be possible to assume the other objects that entered the US airspace were also Chinese, Ms Mastro said: "I think it is to early to make that assumption but given the technology that we are discussing, I think we can assume those balloons were always there.

"It would be very unusual that the US just randomly realised they were suddenly there right after shooting this Chinese balloon.

"I think we can assume they were there and that the US, and in one case the Canadian authorities, knew they were there and has only escalated the issue again because of the diplomatic row over the first.

"Whether they were all Chinese, I think we have to wait and see until the remnants of the balloons are gathered and assessed but as the White House said we do know that the Chinese have a large surveillance balloon programme."

Recent incidents regarding balloons shot down by the US form part of a pattern which highlights the need for NATO to be vigilant, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Stoltenberg said: "What we saw over the United States is part of a pattern where China and also Russia are increasing surveillance activities on NATO allies."

US military fighter jets on Sunday shot down an octagonal object over Lake Huron, the Pentagon said, the latest incident since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon put North American security forces on high alert.

It was the fourth flying object to be shot down over North America by a US missile in a little more than a week. 

China's foreign ministry said it had no information on the latest three flying objects shot down by the US

Chinese spy balloons in Western airspace are "not a good look" and the cyber threat posed by Beijing is "underestimated", the former chief of MI6 has said.

Sir Alex Younger said China was presenting itself to the non-aligned world as "guardian of the sovereignty of developing nations", as he stressed that the latest incidents were "significant".

He told Times Radio: "I question that this is particularly significant in the context of all the other collection that will be taking place. It's visible.

"The thing that we have all been focused on for years is the cyber threat. The threat that comes from the sort of internet and other cyber connectivity. And that, I think, is normally underestimated because you can't see it.

"This is something that's literally visible, and therefore seems to attract a completely different reaction."

Asked about the use of balloons as a strategic weapon, he said: "It's not a good look. They're presenting themselves to the non-aligned world as guardians of the sovereignty of developing nations, and this just is a very different message."

The US has now shot down four flying objects in 10 days and tensions are mounting between the country and China.

Earlier, the White House said that China had a "high-altitude balloon programme" linked to its army.

US fighter jets have now shot down four flying objects in 10 days.

The latest instance, involving what US officials described as an "unidentified" object, was brought down near the US-Canada border on Sunday on the orders of President Joe Biden.

Catch up on what has happened over the past 10 days at the link below...

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is speaking to reporters from Brussels on the spy balloons that entered US airspace.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Austin says the "safety and security" of the American people is President Joe Biden's "number one priority".

He says: "I want to reassure Americans that these objects do not present a military threat to anyone on the ground. They do, however, present a risk to civil aviation, and potentially an intelligence collection threat. And we'll get to the bottom of it."

Mr Austin says that the US has not been able to "definitively assess what these recent objects are".

"We've acted out of an abundance of caution to protect us secure our security and interest," he adds.

The US official also says the recovery of debris is unique to each location and the FBI continues to liaise with Canadian officials.

"As we have said we do not assess that the objects pose any direct threat to the people on the ground, and we will continue to focus on confirming their nature and purpose," he says.

Asked if the US has been able to recover any debris from the three most recent shoot downs, he says: "No." 

By Mark Stone, Sky News' US correspondent

There was a joke about ET from the White House podium today.

But beyond the bemusement, even amusement, over these UFO shoot-downs, there is a very serious side to this.

We know one of the four "objects" was Chinese. The balloon shot down off South Carolina was claimed by Beijing as a "weather balloon".

It's possible, even probable, that the others were Chinese too; all part of an attempt by China to fish for intelligence or simply to test America's red lines.

Here's the concern, though. The Chinese will want an opportunity to retaliate, at the very least for the shooting down of their "weather balloon" last weekend.

You can see how this could easily escalate. The Americans routinely operate surveillance aircraft in the Pacific region.

At the White House, an official said repeatedly: 鈥淭here is no US surveillance aircraft in Chinese airspace."

But he wasn't answering the question he was asked. Does the United States have any surveillance aircraft in airspace claimed by the Chinese?

China claims a vast swathe of maritime territory off its southern coast - within what Beijing calls a "nine dash line" that stretches will into Filipino and Malaysian waters.

If American aerial surveillance activity is taking place in that area, or over Taiwan (also claimed by China as its "renegade province") then they could now be at vastly increased risk of being shot down.

The ultimate concern would be that a manned aircraft is shot down by one side or the other as part of an escalation or miscalculation.