Three US airports were closed on Saturday for “national security reasons” amid controversy over an alleged Chinese spy balloon in the skies, authorities said.
Arrivals and departures were stopped at three airports in the states of South Carolina and North Carolina “to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told AFP in a statement. .
They detect another Chinese balloon in Latin America
The Department of Defense of the United States has affirmed that it detected a second Chinese spy balloon that would be flying over Latin America.
“We are seeing reports of a balloon in transit through Latin America. Now we assess that it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Pentagon spokesman General Patrick Ryder told CNN.
So far, it has not been specified where the second balloon is located specifically but, according to sources have assured the aforementioned medium, this device does not seem to be heading towards the United States.
The discovery of this second balloon takes place a day after the US Department of Defense notified that it had located an alleged Chinese spy balloon over its continental airspace.
The ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces and President Biden’s top military adviser, Mark Milley, recommended against shooting down the balloon — which was seen in the state of Montana — as it did not pose a military threat, emphasizing that the administration acted “immediately” to protect itself against the collection of sensitive information, according to CNN.
For his part, the G.The Chinese government has confirmed this Friday that the first balloon located by the US authorities in the airspace of the North American country is its property, although it has qualified that “it is of a civil nature” and that it is used for “scientific research”.
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“The balloon is from China and is of a civilian nature, used for scientific research, such as meteorological matters,” said a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, who pointed out that “after being affected by westerly winds and due to the limitation of its controllability, seriously deviated from its scheduled route.
This event has altered diplomatic relations between both powers. Specifically, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, has canceled this Friday his visit to China which was scheduled for next week.
Blinken was going to become the first member of US President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to visit the Asian giant, but now the authorities have decided to cancel the trip for the moment while waiting for more information about the balloon in question, which was detected at high altitude over areas of the state of Montana that are home to nuclear facilities.
The Biden Administration considers that going to China now could send the wrong message, which is why it has postponed the trip indefinitely, as government sources have explained to ‘The Wall Street Journal’.
Later, Blinken himself appeared before the media to confirm the cancellation of his trip to Beijing, considering that the latest events are “harmful” for the issues that officials planned to address in Chinese territory.
Likewise, he has acknowledged having contacted the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, to recriminate him for the “irresponsible act” of flying the balloon over US territory, a gesture that represents a “clear violation of the sovereignty” of the country, as well as of international law.