China Returns Underwater Drone Seized From US Navy

President-elect Donald Trump, however, says the Chinese government should be told “we don’t want the drone they stole back” and “let them keep it!”

The guided missile destroyer Mustin (DDG-89) received the UUV about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, according to Cook.

“We are opposed to U.S. deploying vessels and aircraft to conduct surveillance and survey in Chinas costal waters”, she said, without elaborating.

“The handling of this incident shows that the Chinese and United States militaries have quite smooth communication channels”.

“The Chinese were probably a wee bit naughty taking this thing”, he said.

The South China Sea has been the source of raised tensions between the United States and China in recent years, with the Chinese building artificial islands on shoals and coral reefs for use as military bases.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook announced Saturday that China will return the drone but gave no specific timeline.

“When someone wants to sell you out, you must have the ability to rely on yourself”, the scholar said.

The Philippines described the latest incident as troubling and said it might require its United States ally to inform it about what it called drone movements in Philippine waters.

“China made a decision to return it to the US side in an appropriate manner, and China and the USA have all along been in communication about it”, the ministry said on its website.

The U.S. said China’s “unlawful seizure” came in global waters.

The South China Sea has become a focal point for China, the USA and other countries in the region.

Trump, however, appears to have already sparked a diplomatic dispute with Beijing after he spoke to Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, on the telephone in early December – a move which led China to lodge a protest with the USA ambassador in Beijing. “We urge the new USA government and leader to fully understand the high sensitivity of the Taiwan issue”. But the way in which the Chinese ship fished out the drone with a U.S. Navy ship nearby suggested a calibrated action, several analysts said.

“We regret that”, Yang said, state media reports.

Trump’s December 2 phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was the first time an American president or president-elect has publicly spoken to Taiwan’s leader since Washington broke off its formal diplomatic relationship in 1979 at China’s behest.

The US said the device was collecting information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity.

“Now people dont know if Trump is engaged in a psychological war with China or he is just unprofessional, even though he will be sworn in soon”. They are used around the world, but it is unclear how many are used in the South China Sea.

At first glance, Trump’s willingness to reverse decades of USA policy and engage with Taiwan may be seen as positive for the island nation, but in reality China could be a risky foe. “It’s a simple matter that could have been easily resolved via diplomatic or military channels”, he said, adding that China’s handling of the event was following the book.