China confirms second balloon over Latin America

The Chinese authorities has acknowledged a balloon spotted flying implicit Latin America connected Friday is from China and is intended for civilian use.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the craft had deviated from its route, having been blown disconnected course.

A akin balloon was changeable down successful US airspace by subject jets connected Saturday amid allegations that it was being utilized for surveillance.

China has denied accusations of spying, saying it was monitoring the weather.

The incidental has led to a diplomatic enactment betwixt Washington and Beijing.

On Monday, China admitted an craft had "accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace".

Ms Mao told reporters the 2nd balloon had "deviated greatly" from its intended route, citing the aircraft's "limited manoeuvrability" and the upwind conditions.

"The unmanned airship successful question that came from China is of a civilian quality and utilized for formation tests," she added.

"China is simply a liable state and has ever strictly abided by planetary instrumentality successful bid to pass and decently woody with each parties concerned, without posing immoderate menace to immoderate country."

At the weekend, Colombia's aerial unit said an entity with "characteristics akin to those of a balloon" had been detected connected 3 February successful the country's airspace astatine supra 55,000ft.

Colombia said it had followed the entity until it near the airspace, adding that it did not correspond a menace to nationalist security.

Meanwhile, enactment by US Navy divers continues to retrieve the wreckage of the surveillance balloon that was changeable down disconnected the seashore of South Carolina connected Saturday.

US President Joe Biden archetypal approved the program to bring down the balloon connected Wednesday, but decided to hold until it was implicit h2o truthful arsenic not to enactment radical connected the crushed astatine risk.

The US believes the balloon was being utilized to show delicate subject sites.

Adm Mike Mullen, erstwhile seat of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, rejected China's proposition it mightiness person blown disconnected course, saying it was manoeuvrable due to the fact that "it has propellers connected it".

"This was not an accident. This was deliberate. It was intelligence," helium added.

Relations betwixt China and the US person been strained by the incident, with the Pentagon calling it an "unacceptable violation" of its sovereignty. A planned travel by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China was cancelled arsenic a effect of the row.

China has lodged a ceremonial ailment with the US embassy successful Beijing implicit the incident.