It's official. A 2nd rogue balloon launched from China passed over Costa Rica.
Costa Rica's foreign ministry said in a statement the Chinese government recognized that one of its balloons flew over Costa Rica, and that China's embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica, "apologized for the incident."
China insisted that the balloons flown over the U.S. and Costa Rica were used for weather studies and civilian purposes.
Costa Rica's officials were told by China that the balloon's flight path deviated from where it was originally supposed to go and that it had a limited ability to correct the error, according to the statement.
The head of Costa Rica's civil aviation agency said Sunday that local officials had received reports of a balloon flying over the country on Thursday. This statement came after Colombia's military said Saturday that it had discovered an object similar to a balloon flying over its territory the day prior.
This during the same week a large covert balloon sent over from China was announced to the world not by the U.S. military, not by NORAD, not by NATO, not by President Biden or Prime Minister Trudeau but by people on the ground who viewed passing overhead.
We have since been informed a balloon was first spotted January 28th, over the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Then it was over the Northwest Territories of Canada two days later. It crossed along the BC Alberta Border home to several Canadian Military Bases.
Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand has confirmed the balloon violated Canadian airspace, but the government has otherwise declined to provide details about when and where the balloon flew in Canada.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan stated “It did seem that it was positioning itself over various military installations within the United States,” also noting that Alberta is home to major Canadian military bases at Cold Lake, Edmonton, Wainwright.
It the re-entered U.S. airspace again on January 31st and then it was publicly filmed by citizens on February 1st, four days after cruising across North America. One of the first public reports of it was posted on Twitter:
Any clue as to what this is in the sky? It’s moved a little bit in the past 40 minutes, but it was just as bright in daylight hours. pic.twitter.com/sNRnJSfJ7G
— John Martin (@MartinInMontana) February 2, 2023
Then on Wednesday, the Billings Logan International Airport was shut down for roughly two hours around the same time many Montanans were noticing an unexplained object in the sky.
Shane Ketterling, the Director of Aviation at Billings Logan, says two flights to the airport were diverted, and one flight was delayed from taking off while the air space was closed. The diverted flights were eventually able to land.
No military intervention, no NORAD alerts, no public announcement by US or Canadian officials until it was on the news.
Biden let it finish its journey all across North America and then shot it down when it passed over Surfside Beach, South Carolina before entering international waters.
Biden: "On the balloon, I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible [for safety] ... they successfully took it down." pic.twitter.com/Hdl0HdTCku
February 4, 2023
A F-22 fighter jet and AIM-9X Sidewinder missile took down the balloon, after over a week long trek across North America.
China has expressed concern over the incident claiming the balloon was a research weather balloon that had lost control due to unforseen circumstances or force majeure. Seems hard to believe considering the 2nd balloon seen flying over Colombia and Costa Rica had a similar issue.
Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement “due to weather forces and its limited maneuverability, the airship seriously deviated from its scheduled route” and “accidentally entered the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean”.
Questions remain. Where were these balloons intended to go? Why is China launching balloons into the atmosphere they can't control? And if they can't control where its going, how do they prevent it from crashing into a population center?
Costa Rica and the world deserve more than an apology we need an explanation..
