The Chinese government said today that the balloon sighted over Latin America, and designated by the United States as a “surveillance” device, has its origin in China, but that it is of a “civilian nature.”
On Saturday, by order of US President Joe Biden, the US military shot down a first Chinese balloon that had been flying over the United States for several days, provoking strong criticism from Beijing.
The day before, the US Department of Defense said it had seen a second “Chinese surveillance balloon” over Latin America. Colombia announced over the weekend that a balloon had flown over its territory.
“We verified that the unmanned balloon came from China. It is civilian in nature and is used for flight tests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
“Due to the effect of the weather and its limitations in terms of maneuverability, this balloon deviated greatly from its planned trajectory, and ended up in the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mao said at a press conference.
The spokeswoman did not specify which entity the balloon belongs to.
The Colombian Air Force said the balloon was detected on Friday morning and monitored until it left the country’s airspace.
The military authorities of the South American country assured that the device at no time “threatened” the security and defense of the country. No details of his whereabouts or trajectory were released.
The US military shot down, on Saturday, off the coast of the state of South Carolina, in the southeast of the country, the first Chinese balloon, considered by the Pentagon as an espionage device.
China said it was a civilian-use balloon and accused the United States of “overreacting” by using force.
Source: TSF
