China says balloon over U.S. is civilian vessel blown astray

AFP PHOTO / CHASE DOAK

China stated on Friday an “airship” that’s flying over the United States is for civilian meteorological and different scientific functions and voiced remorse that it strayed into U.S. airspace.

U.S. officers stated on Thursday {that a} Chinese spy balloon has been flying over the United States for a few days, in what could be a brazen act simply days forward of a deliberate journey to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In an announcement late on Friday, China’s international ministry additionally stated that it might proceed to keep up communications with the United States to correctly deal with the surprising scenario.

“The airship is from China and is civilian in nature, used for meteorological and other scientific research. Due to the influence of westerly winds and its limited control capability, the airship deviated from its intended course,” it stated.

“China regrets that the airship strayed into the United States by mistake due to force majeure. China will continue to maintain communication with the U.S. side to properly handle this accident,” it stated.