What’s new: China’s foreign ministry said Monday that an unmanned Chinese airship has “unexpectedly” strayed into skies over Latin America.
“The unmanned airship has been verified to be from China and used for civilian purposes,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said during a daily briefing.
Mao said the balloon, which was affected by weather patterns and only has a limited capability to steer itself, deviated far from its planned route and unintentionally entered the skies over Latin America and the Caribbean.
China has informed the concerned parties, who have expressed their understanding about the situation, Mao said, without specifying who they were.
The background: The airship over Latin America is the second suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that the U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly spotted over the last seven days. The Pentagon reported sightings of it on Friday local time, which followed multiple sightings of another that entered the U.S. airspace earlier last week, according to CNN and Politico reports.
The U.S. shot down the one that entered its airspace on Saturday, an action that China strongly opposed, calling it a “clear overreaction” and a serious violation of international practice.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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