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The United States detected another Chinese 'surveillance' balloon flying over Latin America

2023-02-04T10:24:43.839Z


The Pentagon confirmed it, although it avoided giving details about the place where it was found. The United States Department of Defense warned on Friday night that it had detected a second Chinese spy balloon flying over Latin America , although it did not provide details regarding where it is located. The news was released shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his planned trip to China, after that country's authorities admitted that the huge balloon that appeared on US


The United States Department of Defense warned on Friday night that it had detected a second Chinese spy balloon

flying over Latin America

, although it did not provide details regarding where it is located.

The news was released shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his planned trip to China, after that country's authorities admitted that the huge balloon that appeared on US soil was theirs.

"

We are seeing reports of a balloon passing through Latin America. Now we assess that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,

" Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder warned, although he avoided specifying where it is located. 


According to China, it is a device of "civilian nature for meteorological affairs" that deviated from its original course.

However, officials from the Secretary of State affirmed that it is "a clear and unacceptable violation of US sovereignty."


Despite suspicions that it is a spy device, the highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces and President Joe Biden's top military adviser, Mark Milley, recommended not shooting down the first balloon that had been detected near Montana since it did not pose a military threat.

China asked the US to "remain calm" about the balloon that flies over its territory

The director of the Chinese Foreign Office, Wang Yi, held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday night to discuss the conflict around the balloon that flies over US territory.

“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law.

We do not accept any baseless speculation," Wang said in a statement.

The director of the Chinese Foreign Affairs Office, Wang Yi, asked the US to "remain calm" over the balloon flying over its territory.

REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

And he completed: "In the face of unexpected situations,

the two parties must remain calm

, communicate on time, avoid errors of judgment and control differences."

Meanwhile, he complained that "some politicians and media in the United States use the incident as a pretext to attack and smear China."

The Chinese version of the balloon that flies over the United States

China sought to calm things down this Friday: "It is a civil airship used for research purposes, mainly meteorological. With limited self-steering capacity, the aircraft deviated greatly from its planned course. China regrets the involuntary entry of the aircraft into space US air force due to force majeure," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

"The Chinese side will continue to communicate with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure," the statement added.

The key trip that was postponed

Blinken's trip

was to be the largest US visit to China since 2018

.

For the Biden administration, it is part of an effort to

prevent the rivalry with China from worsening

.

For leaders in Beijing, it is meant to signal China's exit from the pandemic lockdown and a desire to reconnect with the rest of the world.

Anthony Blinken.

Photo: AP

US officials

declined to answer several questions about the balloon

, including the precise target of its surveillance, its size, or other specifications.

"It is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not pose a military or physical threat to people on the ground," Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters late Thursday.

With information from agencies. 

look also

Blinken suspends a visit to China, after Beijing admitted that the balloon that flies over the United States is his

What is known about the mysterious Chinese balloon in the skies of the United States: Beijing's response

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2023-02-04

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