The Chinese government said Monday that the balloon sighted over Latin America, which the United States designated as a “surveillance” device, came from China but was “civilian in nature”.
The US military shot down the first Chinese balloon last Saturday on behalf of US President Joe Biden, which had been flying over the United States for several days and was met with fierce criticism from Beijing.
The day before, the US Department of Defense said it had spotted a second “Chinese surveillance balloon” over Latin America. Colombia announced last weekend that a balloon had flown over its territory.
“We have verified that the unmanned balloon came from China. It is civilian in nature and used for flight testing,” said Mao Ning, spokesman for China’s foreign ministry.
“Due to the influence of weather and its maneuverability limitations, this balloon deviated significantly from its planned trajectory and ended up in the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Mao said at a news conference.
The spokeswoman did not specify which entity the balloon belongs to.
The Colombian Air Force said the balloon was detected Friday morning and monitored until it left the country’s airspace.
The South American country’s military authorities ensured that the device did not “threaten” the country’s security and defense at any time. No details were given about his whereabouts or trajectory.
The US military shot down the first Chinese balloon off the coast of South Carolina in the southeast of the country on Saturday, which the Pentagon considers to be an espionage device.
China said it was a civil-use balloon and accused the United States of “overreacting” by using force.
Source: DN
