The Pentagon on Friday announced the discovery of a second Chinese spy balloon, this time over Latin America, in a new episode in a case that has chilled relations between Washington and Beijing since US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken postponed a visit to China at the last minute. AFP reports. Beijing said on Saturday that the controversial flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States was being used as a pretext to “slander” China.

“We know information about the flight of a balloon over Latin America. We believe this is another Chinese spy balloon,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said in a statement, without specifying its exact location.

The day before, the United States announced the presence of the first Chinese reconnaissance balloon in its airspace.

Although the Chinese authorities had to express their “regrets” about this “involuntary” invasion, Washington found this explanation “unacceptable” and on Friday decided to cancel the trip of the American secretary of state, which was supposed to take place on Sunday and Monday, in an extreme manner. . Anthony Blinken’s visit to China would be the first by a US Secretary of State since October 2018.

On Thursday, the Pentagon assured that it has no doubts about the Chinese origin of the balloon and its use for espionage purposes.

“It is a civilian aircraft used for research purposes, mainly meteorological,” which deviated from its trajectory due to wind, Chinese authorities said.

“Slander”

Beijing said on Saturday that the controversial flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States was being used as an excuse to “slander” China, France Presse reported.

“Some US politicians and the media are using this incident as an excuse to attack and vilify China,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

“China always strictly adheres to international law (…) and has never violated the territory and airspace of a sovereign country,” the ministry added regarding the flight of the Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States.

Beijing pretends not to know the details of Anthony Blinken’s visit, which he postponed after the incident.

“In fact, neither China nor the United States (officially) announced the visit,” China’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

“The publication of information (related to this visit) is only a decision of the United States,” the ministry added. (Agerpress)