The United States has detected another “spy balloon” from China that it says is flying over Latin America. “We see information from a balloon that flies over Latin America. We now believe this is another Chinese reconnaissance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said Friday. The Costa Rican newspaper La Nación has just published an article about a white balloon-like flying object that was seen flying over the Latin American country.

Speaking to CNN, a senior Pentagon official clarified that the balloon seen over Latin America does not appear to be headed for the United States. On Thursday, the Pentagon announced that it was monitoring the movements of a Chinese “spy balloon” that flew over the state of Montana (northeast US), where one of the three existing nuclear missile silos on US soil is located. Two other nuclear minefields are located in two states that border Montana: North Dakota to the east and Wyoming to the south.

According to the Pentagon, the balloon should have moved eastward over the past few hours and is now in the center of the country, about 60,000 feet from the surface (18,288 meters).

Meanwhile, as the balloon traverses the North American country, Pentagon officials urged President Joe Biden not to take any action on the craft for security reasons, as debris could fall on the population. Beijing acknowledged that the balloon belongs to him, although he assures that “this is a civilian airship used for research purposes, mainly meteorological.”

New diplomatic crisis between Washington and Beijing

The presence of this Chinese “spy balloon” in US airspace has sparked a diplomatic crisis between Washington and Beijing and has resulted in the suspension of a trip that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken planned to make to the country, EFE reported.

For the head of American diplomacy, the presence of the Chinese airship is “a clear violation of US sovereignty and international law.” This is an irresponsible act.”

Speaking to the press along with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin, Blinken warned that the Chinese Communist Party’s decision to hold the action was “harmful” to the talks that were to take place during his trip to Asia. countries, the first statement by a US foreign secretary since 2018.

In his opinion, the world “expects the United States and China to be responsible in their relationship. The United States will continue to act in ways that reflect this responsibility, and expect their Chinese counterparts to do the same.”

China urges US to ‘keep calm’

Chinese Foreign Ministry Director Wang Yi asked the US to “remain calm” after confirming that the “spy balloon” flying over the North American country belongs to the Asian giant. Wang held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Friday evening, during which the two sides discussed the crisis caused by the discovery of a Chinese-origin aircraft flying over US airspace.

“China is a responsible country and has always strictly observed international law. We will not accept any unfounded speculation,” China’s former foreign minister said in a statement released today by the Asian country’s foreign ministry. “In the face of unforeseen situations, both parties must remain calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid errors in judgment and control disagreements,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Regarding the suspension of a trip that Blinken planned to make to Beijing this weekend, China’s foreign ministry assured that neither the US nor the Asian giant had “ever” announced a visit to Beijing by a US foreign secretary. state. “Neither side has ever announced a visit. This is about the United States making its final statement, and we respect that, ”the Foreign Ministry spokesman said in an official statement.