2023 Chinese balloon incident

From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a large, white balloon from China was seen in North American airspace. It passed over South Korea, Japan, Alaska, Canada, and the contiguous United States. The American and Canadian militaries said that the balloon was for surveillance. The Chinese government said that it was a civilian meteorological research airship blown off course. 
On February 3, the United States Department of Defense said a second Chinese balloon was passing over Latin America, which China also said belonged to it.
The balloon was shot down on February 4, by the United States Air Force, in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of South Carolina on orders from U.S. President Joe Biden.