China owns balloon over Latin America, claims Beijing

• China has acknowledged that a balloon sighted over Latin America belongs to them.
• And was used for flight experiments, but it veered off course due to weather.
• Beijing has never before acknowledged that the balloon belongs to them.

The balloon that was sighted over Latin America’s skies belongs to China and was used for flight experiments, according to a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry.

Beijing has never before acknowledged that the balloon seen over two nations in Latin America actually belongs to China.

Due to meteorological circumstances and a lack of control over the craft, the balloon “significantly veered” from its intended trajectory and reached the sky over Latin America and the Caribbean “by mistake,” according to Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry.

This is the second balloon from China. After the US military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that had been flying over the US for days, Beijing says that it has veered off course owing to weather.

“China is a responsible country. We have always strictly abided by international law. We have informed all relevant parties and appropriately handled the situation, which did not pose any threats to any countries,” Mao said, adding that all parties “expressed their understanding.”

A white observation balloon similar to the one seen over the US was detected in their airspace last week, according to the Colombian Air Force and Costa Rica’s Civil Aviation Authority, though neither organization assigned the craft to China.

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