'Wake-up call:' Flying objects raise concerns about Arctic security

Some politicians and researchers say four flying objects that were discovered, tracked and shot down over U.S. and Canadian airspace in recent weeks highlight the need to improve security in Canada's Arctic.

"It should be a wake-up call for Canadians in general of the woefully inadequate capacity we have in the North in terms of our military capacity," said Opposition Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon.

"The fact that we rely on the American military to a huge degree is simply a fact of life in the North and that's something I don't think a lot of other Canadians would find acceptable."

A high-altitude surveillance balloon of Chinese origin was taken down by an American fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina on February 4 after it flew over Alaska and Canada.

China has claimed it was a "civilian airship" conducting meteorological research.

The following week, three unidentified high-altitude airborne objects were subsequently shot down over Alaska, Yukon and Lake Huron in Michigan.

Little information has been released about their capabilities, purpose or origins.

U.S. and Canadian officials have said they don't believe the objects posed a direct threat to people on the ground, but could have interfered with commercial air traffic.