Colombia: China Owns 2nd Spy Balloon-Like Seen in Latin America

A representative for China's foreign ministry stated that a spy balloon recently sighted over the skies of Latin America, specifically Colombia and Costa Rica, belonged to China and was used for flight experiments, CNN reported Monday.

Beijing has declared for the first time that the balloon observed over two Latin American countries belongs to China.

In a press briefing on Monday, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the balloon "seriously deviated" from its planned course and "accidentally" entered the skies over Latin America and the Caribbean because of the weather conditions and limited control ability over the craft.

After the U.S. military shot down a suspected China spy balloon that soared over the continental U.S. for days on Saturday, Beijing claimed that a second Chinese balloon had wandered off track due to the 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."

The Colombian Air Force and the Civil Aviation Authority of Costa Rica reported last week that a white observation balloon similar to the one seen over the United States was monitored in their territory; however, neither country has linked the vessel to China.

U.S. Shoots Down First China Spy Balloon

The Colombia Air Force issued a brief statement Saturday saying that their air defense system had identified what may have been a balloon on Friday morning.

According to the statement, a balloon-like object was spotted and tracked until it exited Colombian airspace.

Now, investigations are underway in collaboration with other governments and international organizations to determine where the object came from.

After circling North America for days, Al Jazeera noted that the first balloon from China was allegedly shot down by an F-22 fighter jet on Saturday off the coast of South Carolina.

The Pentagon called it a "high-altitude surveillance balloon" and claimed the United States government had taken measures to prevent it from collecting classified data.

Navy troops are "currently conducting recovery operations, with the U.S. Coast Guard assisting in securing the area and maintaining public safety," according to a statement sent by U.S. Forces North America Commander General Glen VanHerck on Sunday.

The military shot down the device in waters near Surfside Beach, South Carolina, and the U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that it is enforcing a temporary security zone in those waters.

The action, which is to be implemented through February 18, intends to safeguard the public from potential threats related to physical objects.

Without Coast Guard authorization, no ships may enter the restricted area.

China Responds to U.S. Military Action

The Chinese government strongly condemned the U.S. military operation, calling the "use of force unacceptable and irresponsible," The Diplomat reports.

A senior defense official informed reporters at a Department of Defense press briefing that after the balloon was shot down, a balloon was detected traveling Central and South America, another People's Republic of China spy balloon.

It was speculated that the surveillance balloon observed over the United States was also Chinese when a similar balloon was spotted over Costa Rica on Thursday and again over Colombia and Venezuela on Friday.

Meanwhile, China sacked Zhuang Guotai as head of the Meteorological Administration on Friday but did not explicitly connect the removal and the balloon mishaps.

Neil Thomas, a senior China researcher at the Eurasia Group, said, "unlikely Zhuang Guotai is being scapegoated over Balloongate," he tweeted.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: China reacts to US shooting down Chinese surveillance balloon - From Good Morning America