Army detected a new balloon over Hawaii's airspace

This Monday, it was reported that the U.S. military spotted a new mystery balloon flying over U.S. soil last week that does not appear to have maneuverability. Authorities are continuing to track it.

Three U.S. officials told NBC News that the military has been monitoring a flying object since late last week. According to recent reports, the balloon traveled 36,000 feet over the coast of Hawaii without passing through any sensitive areas.

Authorities said the object poses no threat to air traffic or national security. However, they have not yet been able to determine if it is a weather balloon or if it has some other purpose. Officials have not yet established who the object belongs to but said they do not believe the owners are Chinese.

The balloon could still be shot down

The military remains attentive to the path the object is taking. Although the object appears to be heading toward Mexico, they have not ruled out the possibility of shooting it down if it comes close to land.

In February of this year, a Chinese spy balloon was found traversing much of the country's mainland. Although it was shot down, the discovery continues to cause controversy because senior officials believe the object may have collected sensitive information on military targets.

Now, the House of Representatives is working to sanction the Asian giant for violating the country's sovereignty. A bill was passed in April that suggests coordinating with U.S. allies to implement sanctions and controls to avoid supporting the People's Republic of China's global surveillance efforts.

The Chinese regime insists that the balloon was intended for meteorological purposes and claimed it was mistakenly diverted from its original course.