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The Pentagon said another Chinese spy balloon has been spotted in the West on Friday, this time hovering over Latin America.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said reports showed ‘a balloon transiting Latin America,’ confirming that it was another Chinese surveillance balloon like the one spotted flying over Montana and Missouri.
Images from Central and South America of a balloon flying in the sky claim that the surveillance craft was somewhere over Costa Rica before reaching Venezuela.
While Ryder did not provide further details on the location of the second balloon, US officials told CNN that it does not appear that the new balloon is heading to America.
The discovery of the second balloon comes as the Pentagon rejected China‘s claim that the balloon detected floating over nuclear sites in Montana is a ‘civilian’ airship that deviated from its course.
A second Chinese spy balloon was reported flying over Latin America, with many taking photos of a balloon hovering above Venezuela (left). The sighting comes after a surveillance balloon was spotted flying Montana (right)
The Chinese surveillance balloon is estimated to be about the width of three buses. The balloon is fitted with solar panels to power the on-board equipment, which could include long-range cameras and radar. It was traveling at an altitude of around 60,000ft on Friday afternoon, but the balloons can reach heights of around double that
The balloon hovering over the US has sparked concerns that China could have deliberately sent the aircraft to spy on US bases.
Montana Senator Steve Daines warned that the balloon might’ve been targeting his state’s nuclear missile fields.
The Pentagon said the balloon was floating at around 60,000 feet on Friday afternoon
‘Montana plays a vital national security role by housing nuclear missile silos at Malmstrom AFB,’ Daines wrote to the Department of Defense.
‘Given the increased hostility and destabilization around the globe aimed at the United States and our allies, I am alarmed by the fact that this spy balloon was able to infiltrate the airspace of our country and Montana.’
The incident heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, with the US canceling Secretary of State Antony Blinken‘s long-planned trip to China.
The trip was to feature a landmark meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a trip President Biden and Xi announced during their own high-stakes summit meeting in Bali in November.
‘We do acknowledge, we note the PRC statement of regret,’ a senior State Department said Friday when announcing the decision.
‘But again, the presence of this balloon in our airspace is clearly unacceptable and a clear violation of our sovereignty. And our clear assessment was that under these current conditions, it wouldn’t be constructive to visit Beijing at this time.’
Blinken ‘postponed’ his planned trip ‘following the detection of a suspected spy balloon over the United States, which Beijing has claimed is a civilian airship which blew off course.’
A US defense official said the balloon is the size of several buses – but doesn’t post an immediate threat to Americans. The balloon, pictured over Montana, has been tracked for several days but officials decided not to shoot it down over fears about debris. China claims it is a civilian airship used for meteorological research
China’s foreign ministry said the balloon ‘seriously deviated from the scheduled route’ and expressed regret that ‘the airship strayed into the United States due to force majeure’ and claimed it was used for scientific research ‘such as meteorology’ – something Pentagon disputed.
The detection of the balloon, which triggered alarm in the White House and the Pentagon, adds to a series of recent controversies that have further strained the tense relationship between China and the United States.
Beijing had urged calm while it established the ‘facts’ before a statement on Friday morning said the balloon was a weather research device that had ‘deviated far from its planned course’.
The Chinese foreign ministry said it regretted that the balloon had mistakenly entered US airspace.
Republican leaders and former President Donald Trump had led calls for the balloon to be shot down.
F-22 fighter jets were mobilized to track the device as it hovered over Montana, which borders Canada, on Wednesday.
Analysts said the balloon is about the size of ‘three buses’ and could be fitted with high-tech equipment including cameras, sensors and radar.
US officials had said that the balloon is large enough that destroying it would rain down debris, risking the safety of people on the ground.
The Chinese surveillance balloon is estimated to be about the width of three buses. The balloon is fitted with solar panels to power the on-board equipment, which could include long-range cameras and radar. It was traveling at an altitude of around 60,000ft on Friday afternoon, but the balloons can reach heights of around double that
After it was spotted flying over, the balloon was tracked further south on Friday afternoon flying over Missouri.
Images posted by the National Weather Service in Kansas City, MO, showed an unidentified balloon flying over the state which is believed to be the Chinese surveillance device.
A report from the crew of a Cessna Citation private jet on Friday afternoon said they observed a ‘derelict balloon adrift’ while cruising at 43,000 feet near Kansas City.
They said the balloon was floating at around 50,000 feet, which could cause safety concerns among aviation officials.
Military and defense officials previously said the balloon was floating at around 60,000 feet and doesn’t pose a threat to civilians or civil aviation.
CIA Director William Burns pictured on Thursday at Washington’s Georgetown University, where he called China the ‘biggest geopolitical challenge’ facing the United States
Pictured: A map showing China’s likely tactics when it comes to an invasion of Taiwan
The balloon situation is the latest strain on America’s relationship with China. Senators also called this week for Apple and Google to ban the Chinese-owned TikTok app from its stores over national security fears
The news initially broke as CIA Director William Burns was speaking at an event at Washington’s Georgetown University, where he called China the ‘biggest geopolitical challenge’ facing the United States.
Elaborating on China’s readiness for an invasion of Taiwan, Burns added: ‘Now, that does not mean that he’s decided to conduct an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it’s a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition.
‘Our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan,’ he said, adding that the Chinese leader was likely ‘surprised and unsettled’ and trying to draw lessons from the ‘very poor performance’ of the Russian military and its weapons systems in Ukraine.
Russia and China signed a ‘no limits’ partnership last February shortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and their economic links have boomed as Russia’s connections with the West have shriveled.
The Russian invasion had fueled concerns in the West of China making a similar move on Taiwan, a democratic island Beijing says is its territory.
China has refrained from condemning Russia’s operation against Ukraine, but it has been careful not to provide the sort of direct material support which could provoke Western sanctions like those imposed on Moscow.
‘I think it’s a mistake to underestimate the mutual commitment to that partnership, but it’s not a friendship totally without limits,’ Burns said.
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