Second spy balloon spotted over Latin America, says Pentagon

A second Chinese spy balloon was reportedly flying over Latin America, according to the Pentagon statement on Friday night, reports Bloomberg.

The discovery earlier of a high-altitude spy balloon over Montana touched off a new row between China and the US and prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to put off his trip to Beijing.

"We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America," Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in the statement  "We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.  We have no further information to provide at this time."

The Pentagon did not specify the balloon's exact location, but a US official told CNN it did not appear to be currently heading towards the US, reports Guardian.

Blinken was scheduled to have meetings in China early next week in the first such visit by a top US diplomat in five years. But the presence of the balloon — which the Pentagon decided not to shoot down — led officials to decide that going now would send the wrong signal.