This is the second device that the United States has spotted and designated as “Chinese surveillance balloon”. While on Saturday, the American army shot down a first Chinese stratospheric balloon which had been flying over the United States for several days, a second device was spotted on Friday above Latin America. Chinese diplomacy said on Monday February 6 that it came from China but was “of a civil nature”. “After verification, it turns out that this unmanned balloon is from China. It is civilian in nature and used for flight testing,” said Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. “Due to weather and maneuverability limitations, this balloon seriously deviated from its intended path and strayed into the skies over Latin America and the Caribbean”, she said during a press briefing. She did not specify which entity the craft belonged to.
The Colombian Air Force had reported that the balloon was detected on Friday morning and monitored until it left national airspace. The military authorities of the South American country assured that the machine had at no time “threat” security and defense of the country. No details of its whereabouts or trajectory had been given.