An American high-altitude tracking balloon was spotted off the coast of Hawaii for the first time

The U.S. military is tracking a high-altitude balloon that was spotted off the coast of Hawaii over the weekend, officials said Monday. The owner of the balloon is unknown, but there was no indication that it was being maneuvered or controlled by a foreign actor.

The balloon was discovered and sighted at an altitude of approximately 36,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean on April 28. According to US officials, it did not fly directly over sensitive sites or critical defense infrastructure.

One official said the object did not pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground, nor did it pose a danger to civilian aviation over Hawaii despite its height. NBC News reported for the first time his discovery earlier on Monday.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed with his military command’s recommendation that no action be taken against the site, but the US military continues to monitor it with the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a Defense Department spokesman.

The object is now outside Hawaii airspace and not over US territorial waters, the official said.

The balloon is observed several months after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after crossing the U.S., sparking a diplomatic standoff that prompted Secretary of State Anthony Blinken cancel planned trip to China.

Around the same time, there were a number of other incidents involving mysterious flying objects. Three objects were shot down over the US and Canada, but were never recovered. At the time, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. had not detected any of the objects sending communications signals before they were shot down. The US also assessed that it showed no signs of self-propulsion or maneuvering and was not manned, he said.

President Biden addressed the incidents on February 16, saying the three unidentified objects were not believed to be part of China’s extensive spy balloon program.

Following the discovery of these objects earlier this year, the Department of Defense and the FAA set new parameters for monitoring US airspace, leading to the discovery of the balloon over the weekend.

White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre referred questions about the latest balloon to the Defense Department during a briefing Monday.