AS tensions are running high between Washington and Beijing over the shooting down of what United States officials said was a Chinese surveillance balloon, Colombia reported having spotted a similar object in its airspace.

The national air defence system detected an object at an altitude of around 17,000m that had entered the country’s airspace in the northern sector on Friday morning, German Press Agency quoted the Colombian air force as saying yesterday.

The object had moved at an average speed of about 46kph, showing “similar characteristics to a balloon.”

The Colombian air force had tracked the object through its defence systems until it left its airspace. It had posed “no threat to national security and defence, nor to air safety,” the air force said, adding it was now working with other countries to determine the origin of the object.

The US military yesterday shot down what officials said was a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Beijing has claimed that it was a civilian research balloon that had veered off course.

On Friday, US Defence Department spokesperson Pat Ryder said a second balloon had been spotted over Latin America, without providing further details. – Bernama, February 5, 2023.