"Part of the reason for shooting it down was to get as much detail as possible … there are claims and counter-claims… The US, of course, is saying it’s a spy balloon and China saying a weather balloon. If you have hard evidence it makes your case a lot stronger. [I think] that was part of Biden’s interest here to be able to provide facts and back up of US claims of it being a spy balloon", says US Studies Centre expert Professor Brendon O'Connor.