Monitoring Desk
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA: Colombia has said that an “object” had overflown their territory after Washington reported that a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon similar to the one shot down off the coast of the United States had been detected over Latin America.
The object with ‘’similar characteristics to those of a balloon” was discovered on Friday and “monitored until it left the national air space,” according to Colombia’s Air Force. According to an air force statement Saturday, the object traveled at an altitude of 55,000 feet (17,000 meters) at an average speed of 25 knots (46 kilometers per hour, 29 miles per hour), and it “did not constitute a threat to national security and defense or aviation security.”
According to the air force, investigations are being conducted in collaboration with various countries and institutes “to determine the origins of the object.” Off the coast of South Carolina, a US fighter plane on Saturday claimed to have shot down a Chinese spy balloon in protest of what it called an “unacceptable violation.”
Chinese balloon
Tensions between Washington and Beijing increased due to the craft’s extended flight over North America. Beijing claimed the object was a weather balloon blown off the track. The Pentagon announced Friday that another alleged Chinese surveillance balloon had been spotted above Latin America.
No other Latin American country has reported seeing the object, and Venezuela lashed out on Sunday against “the US attack against a civilian unmanned aircraft of Chinese origin.” Caracas, subject to US sanctions, issued a statement saying, “The United States once again resorts to the use of force rather than approaching this problem with the seriousness and responsibility it demands.”
