Murkowski on object downed over Alaska: 'If there's an incursion, there's going to be consequences'

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said "there's going to be consequences" if any foreign object invades U.S. airspace after the American military shot down a suspicious aircraft over her home state.

An unidentified object, which has since been linked to China, was shot down Friday over Alaska less than one week after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina. Murkowski told NBC News on Friday that the U.S. needs to make it clear for "any sovereign territory or airspace in this country, if there's a threat, if there's an incursion, there's going to be consequences."

She said her state is the "first line of defense" and "If it comes into Alaska airspace, if it comes over Alaska waters, we need to act. We need to send the message and we need to be clear and unequivocal that we don't tolerate this, period."

Murkowski earlier in the week expressed anger with the Biden administration's choice to wait to shoot down the first balloon, which traversed much of the continental U.S. before being shot down earlier this month.

"As an Alaskan, I am so angry. I want to use other words, but I'm not going to," she said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Thursday, The Hill reported.

"If you're going to have Russia coming at you, if you're going to have China coming at you, we know exactly how they come. They come up and they go over Alaska," she said. "Seems to me the clear message to China is 'we've got free range in Alaska because they're going to let us cruise over that.'"

The U.S. military has shot down three alleged Chinese spy balloons in one week.