STORY: The launch of a suspected Chinese observation balloon over US territory continues to raise tensions between the two countries. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had accused China of using the balloon to attempt surveillance of strategic US mainland facilities. A spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry again rejected this on Monday: “The Chinese side has explained the situation several times. I would like to emphasize that this incident was an accident caused by uncontrollable external forces. The US Ministry of Defense has declares that this balloon or airship posed no military or personal danger to ground personnel. Despite China’s repeated statements, the US side has insisted on the use of force in an apparent overreaction, which China firmly opposes.i” The spokeswoman replied to the question of a second suspected spy balloon that had been sighted over Latin America, which had also flown “accidentally” into the airspace of Latin American countries. It serves civilian purposes and was affected by the weather due to limited manoeuvrability. The federal government was concerned about the current tensions between the US and China. The government hopes this will not lead to further deterioration in US-China relations, a spokesman said. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry did not want to say whether Chinese balloons were also sighted over Germany.