Another Chinese ‘spy balloon’ spotted over Latin America after US

The Pentagon on Saturday said that another Chinese spy balloon has been spotted, this time in the skies over Latin America. “We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon press secretary Brig Gen Patrick Ryder said in a statement. 

This comes a day after the Pentagon confirmed that the US government detected a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the country, following which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled his much-awaited visit to China scheduled next week. 

The discovery of the massive Chinese surveillance balloon over Montana, which is house to some nuclear silos, has sparked a diplomatic crisis as the Biden administration has reportedly described the balloon as a sophisticated Chinese espionage tool. 

According to Pentagon, the balloon travelled from China, subsequently crossing into Alaska and Canada, before hovering over the state of Montana earlier this week. 

On Friday, China replying to the spy balloon controversy said that the “airship” is for civilian meteorological and other scientific purposes and voiced regret that it strayed into the US airspace. Beijing added that it had hoped that the diplomatic visit that was set for Monday to go ahead, as both sides had been working very hard on ties for months. 

It’s not the first time the US has observed surveillance flights, US officials said, but the timing of Blinken’s trip to Beijing and the balloon’s movements prompted a stronger response. The US said that the balloon in its airspace is a clear violation of its sovereignty and international law.  

“We have noted the PRC (People's Republic of China) statement of regret, but the presence of this balloon in our airspace is a clear violation of our sovereignty as well as international law, and it is unacceptable that this has occurred,” an official said. 

“After consultations with our interagency partners as well as with Congress, we have concluded that the conditions are not right at this moment for Secretary Blinken to travel to China,” he added. 

Reiterating to the comment, the Chinese spokesperson said: “China has always strictly abided by international law, respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and has never intentionally and never violated the territory and airspace of any sovereign country. Some politicians and media in the United States took advantage of the issue to attack and discredit China. China firmly opposes it.” 

Press secretary and Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Friday said that the Pentagon is closely watching the balloon and expects it will stay over the US for a few more days. It is reviewing options over whether to destroy it, given concerns over falling debris. 

As per the latest developments, the spy balloon could exit the east coast of the United States as early as Saturday morning, based on an NOAA weather model, as per senior officials. The latest projections show a path through Kentucky, Tennessee into North Carolina over the next 24 hours. 

Two US defense officials said that the balloon is expected to reach the East Coast and then pass out to sea in the southeast, near the Carolinas. One of the officials said it could exit the US east coast on Saturday, a CNN report noted.