Biden gives first formal remarks on Chinese spy balloon, calls for new protocols

For the first time, President Biden himself is explaining the decision to shoot down four flying objects this month. The president spoke after repeated demands from Republicans for more information. Ed O'Keefe is at the White House. Ed, good morning. Good morning, May. President Biden says the intelligence community has determined that those three objects probably weren't a threat just for research or weather monitoring. But after the shootdowns, he's now asking for new protocols to help distinguish between unmanned objects that are a threat and those that aren't.

I gave the order to take down these three objects. President Biden telling the public Thursday what he knows and still doesn't know about the objects that were up there and ordered shot down. Nothing right now suggests they were related to China's spy balloon program. The unknown objects may not have ties to China, but officials say that large balloon that traveled across the U.S. before being shot down off South Carolina's coast definitely did. They just shot it.

And the president says he plans to bring it up with China's leader. I expect to be speaking with President Xi. CBS News has learned the spy balloon was first detected in late January after launching off the South Coast of China. U.S. intelligence officials believe its intended course was just over Guam and Hawaii, but winds blew it towards Alaska, across Canada and the continental U.S.

before it drifted off the East Coast. And then we shot it down, sending a clear message, clear message, the violation of our sovereignty is unacceptable. Navy and FBI dive teams recovered the majority of the Chinese balloon debris, but U.S. and Canadian authorities are still trying to track down what remains of the other three objects, which were detected with recently expanded radar sensors. There are hundreds of these cases being reported. We don't do a good job of monitoring.

We don't have a systemized way to respond to it. To address that, the president laid out future protocol, including establishing an updated inventory of these airborne objects, putting measures in place to improve detection, and updating rules that help better distinguish between objects that pose a risk and those that don't. But make no mistake, if any object presents a threat to the safety, security of the American people, I will take it down. Now, it's not clear when President Biden might speak with Chinese President Xi, but overnight the Chinese responded to all of this by saying that the U.S. needs to work to bring back sound and steady relations. Nate.

And if you're a man of any age, getting a physical is a big deal, and we heard that the president had his physical yesterday, what did we learn? He sure did. Big deal for any guy, but in this case, it's important, of course, because he is the oldest U.S. president ever. And he's made clear that his health is a factor in whether or not he'll mount a reelection campaign. In this case, the physicians at Walter Reed Medical Center say that he is in good shape, remains a healthy and vigorous 80-year-old fit to serve. They point out, of course, that he had COVID last year, but has no symptoms of long COVID.

He also had a lesion removed from his chest that's being sent for a biopsy. Nate. All right. Healthy and vigorous is how it would describe you, and handsome, by the way. Well, thank you. Thank you. You're welcome.

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