Chinese diplomacy confirmed on Monday February 6 that the balloon spotted over Latin America and designated by the United States as a
"surveillance"
device did indeed come from China and was "
of a civilian nature
".
"
Due to the effects of the climate and due to its limitations in terms of maneuverability, this balloon seriously deviated from its planned trajectory and got lost in the sky over Latin America and the Caribbean
," said Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The day before, the US Department of Defense said it had spotted a second "
Chinese surveillance balloon
" over Latin America.
Colombia announced this weekend that a balloon had flown over its territory.
“
After checking, it turns out that this unmanned balloon comes from China.
It is civilian in nature and used for flight testing,
” Mao Ning said.
She did not specify which entity the craft belonged to.
Beijing accuses Washington of having "overreacted"
The Colombian Air Force said the balloon was detected 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 "
threatened
" the security and defense of the country.
No details of its whereabouts or trajectory had been given.
The American army shot down on Saturday, off the coast of South Carolina, in the south-east of the country, the first Chinese balloon, considered by the Pentagon as a spy device.
China says it was a civilian aircraft and accused the United States of
"overreacting"
by using force.
