“A second Chinese surveillance balloon flies over Latin America”update the Pentagon late this Friday, aggravating tensions between Washington and Beijing after the appearance of one of those strange and enormous devices over Montana and other American areas. “We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting over Latin America, and we assess that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon”said Defense Department spokesman, pat ryder, it’s a statement, without specifying the exact location of that second balloon, although the versions pointed to Costa Rica.
the thursYou see, the Pentagon had designated the detection of the Chinese balloon that flew over American airspace as “an irresponsible act”, and although at a high level it was found that it was best not to shoot it down so that the tension with China would not escalate, the truth is that Innumerable conjectures were immediately woven, most of them espionage.
China said it was “a meteorological survey device that inadvertently deviated from its route”, but the truth is that the issue was serious enough for the Secretary of State to anthony blink suspend without the visit to Beijing that he was going to make this Sunday, a trip to which the White House attached special importance since it was the first high-ranking one from the Biden administration to the Asian giant since the pandemic.
“This is an irresponsible act and a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law that undermines the purpose of the trip,” added a statement from the Department of Defense spokesman. Blinken’s visit will be rescheduled, it is recommended, when “conditions are right.”
“We have noted that China is sorrybut the presence of this balloon in our airspace is unacceptable,” added Ryder, who did not hesitate to consider that “it is a spy balloon.” Initially, the Chinese government requested that the matter is not exaggerated but on Friday I end up recognizing “It is a civil aircraft used for scientific purposes, mainly meteorological.”
Due to the wind, the balloon “deviated from its trajectory,” said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, concluding that his country “regrets that you entered United States airspace by force majeure.”
However, the Foreign Ministry also questioned the fact that “Some politicians and media in the United States have used the incident as a pretext to attack and smear China.” “China has never violated the territory and airspace of any sovereign nation,” the Chinese statement added.
Flew over nuclear silos
“I can tell you that the balloon is heading east and is currently over the center of the United States at about 60,000 feet and will improve over the United States for a few more days.” said the Pentagon speaker at a press conference. Ryder reiterated that the balloon flies at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and “poses no military or physical threat to people on the ground.”
The speaker refuses to specify whether the aircraft is moved by the wind or in a controlled manner. According to US media, the balloon flew over the Aleutian Islands in the north Pacific Ocean and Canada before entering US airspace about two days ago.
Specifically, it flew over the state of Montana, which is home to nuclear missile facilities, where combat planes were mobilized that approached it, admitted Thursday a Pentagon official who requested anonymity.
It was decided not to tear it downpartly because of the diplomatic tension that this would generate, but also because of the risks that possible debris represents for people on the ground, since it is a device that “has the volume of three buses.”
“Tear down this balloon,” Trump urged.
The incident sparked strong reactions among US politicians. “This violation of US sovereignty, just days before Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China, shows that the recent signs of openness” by the Chinese authorities “do not reflect a real change in policy,” the Republican chiefs commented. and Democrat on a parliamentary committee on China, Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi.
“Shoot that balloon down!” asked with his usual frontality the former Republican president donald trump on his Verdad Social network.
The Canadian government also added this Saturday that it is investigating an “other potential incident” of this type. “Canada is taking steps to ensure the safety of its airspace, including monitoring a possible second incident,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement, without elaborating.
It is not the first time that the US military has registered an intrusion of this type, but on this occasion it has remained longer in US airspace.
AFP/HB
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