The suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon flying over the continental US entered the entered US airspace “due to force majeure,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday, confirming the airship was from China.
“It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure,” the statement added.
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