As the United States attempts to recover the sunken remains of a huge Chinese security balloon it blasted out of the sky with a rocket, Beijing acknowledged ownership of a second balloon identified drifting over a number of Latin American countries.Although this specific aircraft hasnt produced the very same level of excitement as the one over US area-- largely because the nations under its flight path appeared unconcerned by its existence-- its existence even more raises questions about the extent of Chinese surveillance.

Heres everything we understand about the second balloon today: Where was the 2nd balloon very first spotted?The United States Department of Defense stated on the night of February 3 that it had seen reports of a balloon transiting Latin America, and assessed that it was a Chinese monitoring balloon similar to one that flew over the United States towards the end of January.

Where has it gone since?The balloon made its way across different Latin American nations, but the reaction from those countries was silenced.

Colombias Air Force released a statement Saturday saying it had actually identified an object flying at 55,000 feet (17,000 meters) entering the nations airspace in the north a day previously, which was then kept an eye on until it left Colombian airspace.

It stated the balloon didnt represent a danger to nationwide security and defense, along with air safety.

Regional media also reported that the balloon flew over Costa Rica and Venezuela without incident.And where is it now?It is not right away clear.What has China stated about the 2nd balloon?China on Monday confessed ownership of the balloon seen floating over Latin America, however rejected it was there for monitoring functions.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Feb.

6 that it was a unmanned civilian airship with restricted self-steering ability blown off course due to the weather.

The explanation echoes an earlier one used for the balloon shot down by the US, which China stated was likewise a civilian automobile utilized for meteorological and other research study purposes that had differed its organized course due to westerly winds.Will this balloon be shot down too?It appears unlikely.

No Latin American nations revealed a desire to shoot the balloon down, unlike the very first which was being carefully tracked in United States airspace.

Furthermore, while there had actually been significant domestic political pressure for the US to lower the balloon, it is a different photo in Latin America where many countries take pleasure in cordial economic and diplomatic relations with the Chinese.

Venezuela was outraged at the US decision to shoot down the initial balloon, which it said was an attack by the United States against an unmanned civilian aircraft of Chinese origin.

Might there be more up there?Its possible, although they might be tough to detect.

Recently, Chinese balloons have actually been found over countries throughout 5 continents, a senior US defense official said on February 4.

Last March, a balloon was reported to have hovered for a number of hours over Taipeis Songshan Airport, while Japan is likewise checking out whether two flying items found in June 2020 and September 2021 are linked to the one shot down at the weekend.

In the US, balloons have previously been found near Texas, Florida and Hawaii, as well as near the Pacific Ocean island of Guam, where the United States has naval and air force bases.

Authorities stopped working to discover those balloons and just learnt more about them from the United States intelligence neighborhood later on.