The Colombian Air Force confirmed this weekend the sighting of a balloon in its airspace after the Pentagon’s announcement of the existence of a second alleged Chinese spy device that was flying over Latin America.
Amid tensions between China and the United States after the discovery of an alleged Asian surveillance balloon, the Colombian National Air Defense System detected an object above 55,000 feet last Friday.
“The object entered Colombian airspace in the northern sector of the country, moving at an average speed of 25 knots, identifying characteristics similar to those of a balloon”they wrote in a statement.
The Colombian Air Force followed the object until it left the airspace.
They also stressed that said object did not represent a threat to national security and defense and that from now on the pertinent investigations will be launched, with different countries and institutions, to establish the origin of the object.
Previously, the Pentagon had reported that it had detected a second Chinese balloon after the one located over US territory in recent days and that it was flying over Latin America.
“We see information about a balloon flying over Latin America. We consider it to be another Chinese surveillance balloon”the spokesman for the United States Department of Defense, General Patrick Ryder, told the media.
The discovery of the balloon over US territory led to the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China scheduled for this weekend.
China has at all times denied the version of espionage and ensures that the balloon was for scientific purposes and that it deviated from its planned route.
The authorities of the Asian giant apologized on Friday for the “involuntary entry” of the balloon into US airspace.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry later expressed its “strong discontent and protest against the use of force by the US to attack a civilian drone.”
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