China has apologized to Costa Rica for the hot air balloon that flew over its territory, the Central American country’s government said on Monday after another alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States sparked a political and diplomatic row.

According to a brief statement from the Costa Rica Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese government acknowledged that one of its balloons flew over Costa Rica, and the Chinese Embassy in San Jose “apologised for the incident,” insisting that the balloon was aimed at Scientific research. mainly in meteorological research.

According to the statement, Costa Rican officials were informed by Chinese officials that the balloon’s flight path had deviated from its original plan and its ability to correct the error was limited.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told reporters at a press conference in Beijing on Monday that the balloon seen in Latin America was being used for political purposes.

On Sunday, the head of Costa Rica’s civil aviation agency said local officials had received reports of a hot air balloon flying over the country last Thursday after the Colombian military released a statement on Saturday saying they saw an object that looked like an aerial balloon, over the country. territory the day before.

According to the director of civil aviation, the planes were alerted at the time, but no further action was taken.

Source: Reuters.