Beijing confirms balloon flying in Latin America's sky is Chinese

The Chinese officials on Monday confirmed that a ballon spotted by Bogota and Washington flying in the sky of Latin America is Chinese after the United States shot down a similar device over the weekend.

The Pentagon on Friday stated that they have spotted a second balloon, suspected to be a Chinese spying object, flying across the sky of Latin America.

The air force of Colombia then reported an object seen with "characteristics similar to those of a balloon" had been detected and "monitored until it left the national air space".

The air force stated that investigations are being conducted in co-ordination with other institutions and nations "to establish the origins of the object".

The foreign ministry of Beijing on Monday claimed that the balloon was "from China" and that it was of "a civilian nature and used for flight tests".

"Affected by weather forces in addition to its maneuverability being limited, the airship deviated greatly from its expected course, and accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace," said spokesperson Mao Ning, while speaking at a press briefing.

"China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law. We have communicated with the relevant parties and are handling appropriately, and will not cause any threat to any country,” she added.

WATCH | U.S. shoots down Chinese balloon over the Atlantic

The detection of China's other balloon flying over the United States led to the cancellation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's planned visit to China, who was due to land in Beijing on Sunday.

After the earlier balloon was shot down, China expressed its anger on Sunday and continued to claim that it was an unmanned weather surveillance aircraft, which had veered off course.

(With inputs from agencies)

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