Image of the artifact discovered this past Wednesday over Montana /
At the moment the exact location point has not been disclosed, but it does not seem to be heading to US territory
The Department of Defense of the United States affirmed this Friday night that it has detected a second Chinese spy balloon that would be flying over Latin America. “We are seeing reports of a balloon in transit over Latin America. We assess that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder told CNN.
So far, it has not been specified where the second balloon is located specifically but, according to sources have assured the aforementioned medium, this device does not seem to be heading towards the United States. The discovery of this second balloon takes place a day after the US Department of Defense notified that it had located an alleged Chinese spy balloon over its continental airspace.
The highest ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces and President Biden’s top military adviser, Mark Milley, recommended against shooting down the balloon – which was seen in the state of Montana – as it did not pose a military threat, emphasizing that the Management acted “immediately” to protect against the collection of sensitive information.
For its part, the Government of China confirmed yesterday that the first balloon located by the US authorities in the airspace of the North American country is its property, although a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry has qualified: “The balloon is from China and is of a civil nature, used for scientific research, such as meteorological matters. “After being affected by westerly winds and limited controllability, it seriously deviated from its scheduled route.”
“An irresponsible act”
This event has altered diplomatic relations between both powers. Specifically, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, canceled yesterday, Friday, his visit to China which was scheduled for next week.
Blinken was going to become the first member of US President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to visit the Asian giant, but the authorities have decided to cancel the trip for the moment while waiting for more information about the balloon in question, which was detected. at high altitude over areas of the state of Montana, which are home to nuclear facilities. The Biden Administration considers that going to China now could send the wrong message, which is why it has postponed the trip indefinitely, as government sources have explained to ‘The Wall Street Journal’.
Later, Blinken himself appeared before the media to confirm the cancellation of his trip to Beijing, considering that the latest events are “harmful” for the issues that officials planned to address in Chinese territory. Likewise, he has acknowledged having contacted the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, to reproach him for the “irresponsible act” of flying the balloon over US territory, a gesture that represents a “clear violation of the sovereignty” of the country, as well as of international law.