Beijing confirms balloon flying over Latin America is “from China”

Beijing:

China confirmed on Monday that a balloon flown over Latin America by Washington and Bogota is Chinese, after a similar device was shot down by the United States over the weekend.

The Pentagon said on Friday that a second suspected Chinese spy balloon had been spotted in Latin America.

The Colombian Air Force then reported that an object with “characteristics similar to a balloon” had been detected and “monitored until it left the national airspace”.

The Air Force said it was conducting the investigation “in coordination with other countries and institutions” to establish the origin of the object.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the object was “from China” and that it was “of a civilian nature and used for flight tests”.

“Besides being affected by weather forces and having limited maneuverability, the airship deviated significantly from its expected course and entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace by mistake,” spokesman Mao Ning said at a press briefing.

“China is a responsible country and has always strictly followed international law,” he said.

“We have communicated with relevant parties and are acting appropriately, and will not pose any threat to any country.”

The detection of other balloons over the United States prompted the cancellation of a planned visit to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was due to arrive in Beijing on Sunday.

China expressed anger on Sunday after the balloon was shot down by what it says was an unmanned weather observation aircraft that had strayed off course.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)