China claims ownership of second suspected spy balloon over Latin America

Chinese authorities have confirmed that an “unmanned aircraft” flying over Latin America originated in China, even as Beijing stepped up its protests against the U.S. military’s decision to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that traversed the United States last week.

At a regular news briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said the second balloon also came from China, but she claimed that it was used for civilian flight tests. “Due to the impact of weather and limited self-steering ability, this aircraft seriously deviated from its scheduled course,” Mao said.

The Pentagon has identified the vehicle as another suspected Chinese surveillance device, similar to the huge white globe spotted by civilians Wednesday as it hung over Montana. Beijing said that one was a weather balloon blown off-course.

So far, however, Latin American countries have mostly remained silent about the second balloon. Colombia’s air force said Saturday that it monitored an object flying at 55,000 feet across its airspace. [The] suspected spy balloon on Feb. 6 was seen flying over Costa Rica.

More From The Washington Post (subscription required):