2nd balloon flying over LatAm is Chinese: Beijing

Beijing yesterday confirmed that a balloon spotted flying over Latin America is Chinese, while the United States worked to recover what it claimed was an unmanned spy craft it shot down at the weekend.

China has expressed fury at Washington's decision to shoot down a device that it insists was an unmanned weather surveillance aircraft that had veered off course last week.

That balloon sparked outrage in the United States, which accused China of an "unacceptable violation" of its sovereignty and prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to call off a planned trip to Beijing.

Beijing acknowledged yesterday that the latest balloon, spotted by US and Colombian officials flying over Latin America at the weekend, was also Chinese. Its foreign ministry said the device was of "a civilian nature and used for flight tests".

"Affected by weather forces in addition to its manoeuvrability being limited, the airship deviated greatly from its expected course, and accidentally entered Latin American and Caribbean airspace," spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing.

That statement came three days after what the Pentagon characterised as another Chinese spy balloon had been seen across Latin America.