China acknowledges that the globe located in the US is its own and stresses that it is for "scientific research"

MADRID, 3 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of China has confirmed this Friday that the 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".

"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.

For this reason, he pointed out that "China regrets that the balloon diverted into the United States due to force majeure" and added that Beijing "will continue to maintain communication with the United States to adequately address this unexpected situation, caused by force majeure," according to a brief statement on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder has detailed that the US military has been tracking a suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over continental US airspace in recent days. Thus, he has stated that "it does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground" at the same time that he has indicated that "he is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic."

For his part, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, has called the event "blatant contempt for sovereignty" and has called a meeting of a group of parliamentarians in charge of dealing with intelligence information to address the matter, while Republican congressmen have criticized the Joe Biden Administration and have called for the shooting down of the balloon.