The Pentagon on Saturday said that there is another Chinese surveillance balloon transiting in Latin America. “We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in a statement, reported CNN.
Also Read | Where is the ‘Chinese spy balloon’ now? Height, altitude and path
It is unclear exactly which country in the region the balloon is over but it does not appear as if it is moving toward the United States, according to CNN.
Earlier a senior Pentagon official rejected Beijing’s claims that a Chinese airship spotted flying over sensitive US military locations was a meteorological research balloon.
Also Read | Watch: Chinese surveillance balloon over Montana ahead of Anthony Blinken’s China visit
This comes a day after US officials admitted it was tracking the spy balloon across the country and said it is expected to remain the in the US airspace for the next few days.
During a press conference at midday on Friday, Ryder said the US was continuing to weigh its options and described the airship’s presence as an “unacceptable” violation of US airspace.
Also Read | Jet or Chinese spy balloon? Alleged explosion in the sky over Billings Montana sparks theories. Watch
Currently, the Pentagon said it does not pose a threat and that it advised the White House to not shoot it down, despite F-22 fighter jets being scrambled over Montana when it was spotted on Wednesday.
The balloon was filmed and photographed by residents of Billings, Montana, a little over 200 miles from a nuclear missile silo field at Malmstrom Air Force Base. Ryder said the balloon was moving eastward over the center of the United States at an altitude of 60,000 feet on Friday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also postponed his trip to China this weekend because of the incident “The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement, using a legal term used to describe events beyond one’s control.
