China Confirms Second Balloon Over Latin America

China confirmed that it was the source of a balloon detected flying over Latin America, similar to the one the U.S. shot down over the weekend. China accused the U.S. of indiscriminate use of force, and has pledged to protect the rights of a Chinese company involved.

February 7, 2023 . 12:02 AM

1 min read

China confirmed that it was the source of a balloon detected flying over Latin America, describing it in similar terms to the suspected surveillance balloon that the U.S. shot down over the weekend.
China accused the U.S. of indiscriminate use of force after it shot down a suspected spy balloon on Saturday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Monday described the balloon over Latin America as an unmanned airship for research purposes that had been blown off course by bad weather.
Pentagon officials over the weekend said the second balloon was seen transiting across Central and South America, and characterized it as a fleet of surveillance balloons operated by China.
China has pledged to protect the rights of a Chinese company involved in the U.S. incident, although it hasn’t identified that company.