Balloon over Columbia also belongs to China, Beijing says

Beijing, Feb 6, (dpa/GNA) – A large balloon discovered over Colombia belongs to China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Nin confirmed on Monday.

A similar Chinese balloon was found floating over the US last week. Washington accused Beijing of using it for surveillance purposes, and shot it down on Saturday.

In response, Beijing summoned the US charge d’affaires, and repeated earlier statements that the balloon was a civilian aircraft.

The Chinese also claim that the balloon over Columbia serves “civilian purposes” and is simply on the wrong track, an argument Beijing used to explain the first balloon’s position over the US.

US President Joe Biden, gave the green light to shoot down the balloon over open waters. Although there had been numerous calls to shoot it down as soon as possible, the administration said it did not want to risk possible casualties on the ground.

US Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken, cancelled a planned trip to China once the balloon has been discovered. The US had previously announced that it had detected a balloon over South America.

GNA