A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday.

The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on Dec. 15 northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea,” the official said.

“It’s a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was U.S. property.”

The Chinese seizure will add to concerns about China’s growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts.

A U.S. think tank reported this week that new satellite imagery indicated that China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea.

The seized underwater drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data, including salinity, temperature and clarity of the water, the official added.

Such data can help inform U.S. military sonar data, since sound is affected by such factors.

The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the underwater drone.

The Chinese have acknowledged the demarche but not responded to it, the official added.</s>BEIJING — China said today that its military was in contact with its American counterparts on "appropriately handling" the Chinese navy's seizure of a U.S. Navy unmanned underwater glider, one of the most serious incidents between the two militaries in years.

The one-sentence comment by the foreign ministry offered no details on what discussions were underway or why China on Thursday seized the drone, which, according to the Pentagon, was being operated by civilian contractors to conduct oceanic research. The U.S. said it issued a formal diplomatic complaint over the seizure and demanded the drone's return.

"According to (our) understanding, the U.S. and Chinese sides are working on appropriately handling this matter through channels between the two militaries," the foreign ministry told The Associated Press in a faxed statement.

China's defense ministry did not immediately respond to questions on the issue.

The drone was seized while collecting unclassified scientific data about 92 kilometers (57 miles) northwest of Subic Bay near the Philippines in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said Friday.

"It is ours. It's clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again," Davis told reporters. He said the drone costs about $150,000 and is largely commercial, off-the-shelf technology.

The USNS Bowditch, which is not a combat ship, was stopped in international waters Thursday afternoon and recovering two of the gliders when the Chinese ship approached, Davis said. The two vessels were within about 450 meters (500 yards) of each other. He said that the USNS Bowditch carries some small arms, but that no shots were fired.

According to the Pentagon, as the Chinese ship left with the drone, which is about 3 meters (10 feet) long, its only radio response to the U.S. vessel was, "We are returning to normal operations."

President-elect Donald Trump blasted the seizure. Apparently misspelling "unprecedented," he tweeted Saturday: "China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act."

He later reissued the tweet, correcting the spelling to "unprecedented."

Last weekend, Trump was criticized on social media for bad spelling in a tweet in which he accused CNN of reporting "rediculous" fake news. Hours later, he put out a fresh tweet correcting the spelling to "ridiculous."

Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the seizure of the glider occurred inside the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, not China, and appeared to be a violation of international law.

China delineates its South China Sea claims with a roughly drawn sea border known as the "nine-dash line" that runs along the west coast of the Philippines. However, it hasn't explicitly said whether it considers those waters as sovereign territory, and says it doesn't disrupt the passage of other nations' shipping through the area. The U.S. doesn't take a position on sovereignty claims, but insists on freedom of navigation, including the right of its naval vessels to conduct training and other operations in the sea.

Davis said that the incident could be the first time in recent history that China has taken a U.S. naval vessel. Some observers have called it the most significant dispute between the sides' militaries since the April 2001 mid-air collision between a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft and a Chinese fighter jet about 110 kilometers (70 miles) from China's Hainan island that led to the death of a Chinese pilot.

Whatever the outcome, the incident is likely to fray the already tense relations between U.S. and China. Beijing was angered by Trump's decision to talk by phone with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 2, and by his later comments that he did not feel "bound by a one-China policy" regarding the status of Taiwan, unless the U.S. could gain trade or other benefits from China. China considers the self-governing island its own territory to be recovered by force if it deems necessary.

There also have been increased tensions over Beijing's ongoing military buildup in the South China Sea, mainly the development and militarization of man-made shoals and islands aimed at extending China's reach in the strategically vital area, through which about $5 trillion in global trade passes annually.

In one of the few reports in state media about the drone's seizure, a newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party cited an unidentified military official as saying that a "smooth resolution" to the matter is expected.

A Chinese navy ship discovered an "unidentified device" Thursday and was checking on it for the sake of maritime safety, the Global Times quoted the official as saying.

"China has received the U.S. request to return the device, communication is open between the relevant departments of the two sides and I believe this matter will obtain a smooth resolution," the official was quoted as saying.

In a separate report, the paper quoted retired Chinese admiral Yang Yi as saying China considered itself well within its rights to seize the drone.

"If China needs to take it, we'll take it. (America) can't block us," Yang was quoted as saying.

Yang said he was unsure of the purpose of seizing the drone, but didn't think the matter qualified as a "military conflict." However, he added that the chances of a confrontation had risen following Trump's recent comments, which were seen as testing China's bottom line on Taiwan and other sensitive issues.

"It's natural for us to take possession of and research for a bit these types of things that America sends to our doorstep," Yang said. "The louder they shout, the more their protests ring hollow."</s>China will return an underwater US drone seized by a naval vessel this week in the South China Sea, both countries said on Saturday, but Beijing complained that Washington had been “hyping up” the incident.

US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to take an aggressive approach in dealing with China over its economic and military policies, jumped on the unusual drone seizure with a pair of provocative tweets, accusing Beijing of stealing the equipment.

The drone, known as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), was taken on Thursday, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory. The Pentagon went public with its complaint after the action and said on Saturday it had secured a deal to get the drone back.

“Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

The drone, which the Pentagon said was operating lawfully was collecting data about the salinity, temperature and clarity of the water about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, off the Philippines.

It was seized just as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve it, US officials said.

China’s Defence Ministry said a Chinese naval vessel discovered a piece of “unidentified equipment” and checked it to prevent any navigational safety issues before discovering it was a US drone.

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

“During this process, the US side’s unilateral and open hyping up is inappropriate, and is not beneficial to the smooth resolution of this issue. We express regret at this,” it added.

Trump, a Republican who takes office on January 20th, waded into the dispute on Twitter early on Saturday from his seaside resort club Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where he plans to spend the holidays.

“China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented (sic) act,” he said, misspelling the word ‘unprecedented’.

Mr Trump later reissued the tweet with the corrected spelling of ‘unprecedented’.

After China said it would return the drone, Jason Miller, a spokesman for Trump, seemed to take credit for the development when tweeted a link to a news story, saying: “@realdonaldtrump gets it done.”

There was, however, no evidence that Trump had played any role. US officials said the negotiations took place in Beijing during the overnight hours in the United States. Miller did not respond to requests for comment.

Hours later, while riding in a motorcade back to his resort, Trump tweeted his second jab. “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back - let them keep it!” he said.

Trump has previously threatened to declare China a currency manipulator and force changes in US-Chinese trade policy, which he says has led to the greatest theft of American jobs in history.

Trump has also raised questions about the most sensitive part of the US-China relationship: whether Washington would stick to its nearly four-decades-old policy of recognising that Taiwan is part of “one China.”

After his November election victory, Trump accepted a congratulatory phone call from President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, prompting China to lodge a diplomatic protest.

President Barack Obama said on Friday it was fine for Trump to review Washington’s policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned that a shift could lead to significant consequences in the US relationship with Beijing.

“There’s probably no bilateral relationship that carries more significance and where there’s also the potential, if that relationship breaks down or goes into a full-conflict mode, that everybody is worse off,” Obama told reporters.

The drone incident has raised fresh concerns about China’s increased military presence and aggressive posture in the energy-rich South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to the waterway.

New satellite imagery shows China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, a US research group said this week.

Without directly saying whether the US drone was operating in waters Beijing considers its own, China’s Defence Ministry said US ships and aircraft have for a long period been carrying out surveillance and surveys in “the presence” of Chinese waters.

“China is resolutely opposed to this, and demands the US stops this kind of activity,” it said.

China will remain on alert for these sorts of activities and take necessary steps to deal with them, the ministry said without elaborating.

The Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, earlier cited an unidentified Chinese source as saying they believed the issue would be resolved smoothly.</s>A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea,triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday.

The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on Dec. 15 northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea,” the official said.

“It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was U.S. property.”

The US asked China to “immediately” return its unmanned naval probe in international waters in the South China Sea which it alleged has been “unlawfully” seized by them. “Using appropriate government-to-government channels, the Department of Defense has called upon China to immediately return an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that China unlawfully seized on December 15 in the South China Sea while it was being recovered by a US Navy oceanographic survey ship,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said.

The Chinese seizure will add to concerns about China's growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarisation of maritime outposts.

A U.S. think tank reported this week that new satellite imagery indicated that China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea.

The seized underwater drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data, including salinity,temperature and clarity of the water, the official added.

Such data can help inform U.S. military sonar data, since sound is affected by such factors.

The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the underwater drone.

The Chinese have acknowledged the demarche but not responded to it, the official added.</s>"We have registered our objection to China's unlawful seizure of a US unmanned underwater vehicle operating in international waters in the South China Sea. Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

Details were not immediately available on when or how it may be returned.

Earlier Saturday, China's defense ministry said Chinese authorities had decided to return it, but criticized the US for having "hyped up" the issue. President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the incident, calling China's action "unprecedented."

"Upon confirming that the device was a US underwater drone, the Chinese side decided to transfer it to the US side in an appropriate manner," Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Sr. Col. Yang Yujun said. "China and the United States have been communicating about this process. It is inappropriate -- and unhelpful for a resolution -- that the US has unilaterally hyped up the issue. We express our regret over that."

The statement added that the US "has been frequently deploying ships and aircraft to conduct close-in surveillance and military surveys in waters facing China. China firmly opposes such acts and demands the US cease such activities. China will stay alert over relevant US activities and will take necessary measures to counter them." A message left with the State Department was not returned Saturday. Saturday morning, Trump tweeted, "China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act." China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2016 Trump initially tweeted that it was an "unpresidented" act, leading him to delete the message and retweet it with the correct spelling. The incident, the latest encounter in international waters in the South China Sea region, occurred earlier this week about 100 miles off the Philippine port at Subic Bay. The USNS Bowditch had stopped in the water to pick up two underwater drones. At that point, a Chinese naval ship that had been shadowing the Bowditch put a small boat into the water. That small boat came up alongside and the Chinese crew took one of the drones. The US got no answer from the Chinese on the radio when it said the drone was American property, a US defense official told CNN. As they turned away, the Chinese did come up on the radio and indicated they were returning to their own operations. US oceanographic research vessels are often followed in the water under the assumption they are spying. In this case, however, the drone was simply measuring ocean conditions, the official said. Cook earlier in the week said said China had "unlawfully seized" the drone, calling for its immediate return. Although it's unclear what the motivation was for the Chinese, the seizing of the drone comes on the heels of other provocative incidents that have happened since Trump received a congratulatory call from Taiwan's President, a violation of the US's agreement with China's "One China policy." China publicly voiced its disapproval of that incident and contacted the White House at the time.</s>The seized drone was deployed by an American oceanographic vessel. (Photo: Twitter)

Washington: A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a US defense official told Reuters on Friday.

The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on December 15 north-west of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," the official said.

"It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was US property."

The Chinese seizure will add to concerns about China's growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts.

A US think tank reported this week that new satellite imagery indicated that China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea.

The seized underwater drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data, including salinity, temperature and clarity of the water, the official added.

Such data can help inform US military sonar data, since sound is affected by such factors.

The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the underwater drone.

The Chinese have acknowledged the demarche but not responded to it, the official added.</s>Why it's so tense in the South China Sea</s>This combo shows U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. First, he made a phone call to Ms. Tsai, going against protocol, and called Beijing a currency manipulator. Then he tweeted that China stole an Amercian drone in the South China Sea. He followed it up with another snide tweet that China can keep the drone. Repeatedly in recent weeks, Mr. Trump has been pinpricking the Communist giant. | Photo Credit: AP

In yet another swipe at China, United States President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said that America should let the Communist giant keep the Navy’s unmanned underwater drone after Beijing agreed to return in an “appropriate manner” the device it had seized in the disputed South China Sea (SCS). The incident is among the most serious military confrontations between the two powers for decades.

(The U.S. lodged a formal diplomatic complaint and demanded the drone back. On Saturday, China slammed the U.S. for “making a fuss” over the seizure of its underwater drone and said it would return the device in an “appropriate manner.”

Defence Ministry spokesperson Senior Colonel Yang Yujun dismissed the U.S. allegations, insisting that China seized the underwater glider to ensure the safe navigation of passing ships.)

“We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back — let them keep it!” Mr. Trump tweeted, hours after Pentagon announced it had reached an understanding with China for the return of the drone.

The Pentagon had alleged that the drone was unlawfully seized by China on December 15 in the SCS while it was being recovered by a U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ship.

Mr. Trump’s latest tweet was the second time the President-elect had blasted China for the seizure.

Earlier, he said they stole it

Earlier, he accused China of stealing the American drone.

“China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented [sic] act,” Mr. Trump tweeted, misspelling unprecedented.

He later reissued the tweet, correcting the spelling.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly infuriated China in recent weeks, questioning decades-old U.S. policy on Taiwan, making a phone call to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and calling Beijing a currency manipulator.</s>WASHINGTON - A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday.

The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on Dec. 15 northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," the official said.

"It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was U.S. property."

The Chinese seizure will add to concerns about China's growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts.

A U.S. think tank reported this week that new satellite imagery indicated that China has installed weapons, including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, on all seven artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea.

The seized underwater drone was part of an unclassified program to collect oceanographic data, including salinity, temperature and clarity of the water, the official added.

Such data can help inform U.S. military sonar data, since sound is affected by such factors.

The United States issued the formal demarche, as such protests are known, through diplomatic channels and included a demand that China immediately return the underwater drone.

The Chinese have acknowledged the demarche but not responded to it, the official added. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and James Dalgleish)</s>The Chinese navy has seized an unmanned U.S. underwater survey drone in international waters in the South China Sea, prompting a formal diplomatic protest and a demand for its return Friday, in a confrontation likely to exacerbate already rising tensions.

Thursday’s seizure was the first of its kind in recent memory, and took place about 50 nautical miles (93 km) from Subic Bay in the Philippines as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).

The move coincided with a rise in saber-rattling from Chinese state media and its military establishment after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized Beijing over the South China Sea and the nearly four-decade-old U.S. policy of recognizing Taiwan as part of “one China.”

The Pentagon confirmed the incident and said the drone used commercially available technology that sold for about $150,000. Despite this, the Defense Department viewed the Chinese move as serious since it had effectively stolen U.S. military property.

“It is ours, and it is clearly marked as ours and we would like it back. And we would like this not to happen again,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said, adding that the incident had occurred within a 500-yard (457-meter) area.

The Defense Department said the Bowditch and the drone — an unclassified “ocean glider” system used around the world to gather military oceanographic data such as salinity, water temperature, and sound speed — were conducting routine operations in accordance with international law when a Chinese navy Dalang-3 submarine rescue vessel launched a small boat and intercepted the UUV.

The Pentagon said the Bowditch made contact with the Chinese navy ship via bridge-to-bridge radio to request the return of the UUV. This contact was acknowledged by the Chinese vessel, but the request was ignored.

“As (the Chinese ship) went sailing off into distance, (it) said, ‘We are returning to normal operations,’ ” Davis said.

“We need to find out what the Chinese have to say about it,” he added. “It’s certainly not something we consider to be commensurate with their level as a professional military.”

In a statement released later, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said that the swiped drone was “a sovereign immune vessel of the United States.”

“We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law.”

“Although the drone was not conducting a military operation, disrupting and then stealing the naval platform — which has sovereign immune status — is one of the most brazen actions that the People’s Liberation Army Navy has taken against the U.S. Navy for a very long time,” said Ashley Townshend, a research fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

The seizure will add to growing concerns over China’s increasingly bellicose moves in the region.

It will also be a top issue for Trump, who campaigned on a pledge of extracting more favorable trade deals from China and has stoked anger in Beijing by taking a phone call from Taiwan’s president and slamming China for building what he called a “massive military complex” in the South China Sea.

Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that Thursday’s seizure could be linked to Trump’s war of words with Beijing.

“It cannot be ruled out that this action was a deliberate signal to the incoming Trump administration, which the Chinese see as challenging their core interests on Taiwan,” Glaser said. “They have five weeks to persuade Trump to buy into the framework that has prevailed under (U.S. President Barack ) Obama — cooperate where U.S. and Chinese interests overlap and manage/control differences where our interests diverge.”

Experts say Chinese naval and coast guard vessels typically operate within the bounds of guidelines that are centrally dictated by officials in Beijing, meaning incidents such as this one may have been sanctioned by the leadership.

“This, of course, does not mean that all actions are deliberate,” said Townshend. “Unsanctioned behavior by overly assertive ship operators or local military commands has occasionally taken place, and could account for this latest provocation.”

Deliberate or not, experts said the move was unheard of in recent years as Washington and Beijing worked to prevent repeats of similar confrontations at sea and in the air while also building up a string of outposts in the South China Sea from which to project power.

Beijing claims most of the strategic waterway, through which more than $5 trillion in annual trade passes. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam all have rival claims.

It has reclaimed more than 1,280 hectares (3,200 acres) of land on seven features it occupies in the disputed Spratly chain. In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected China’s expansive claims to much of the waters, a ruling Beijing criticized as “waste paper.”

The last major confrontation between the U.S. and China similar to Thursday’s happened in 2013, when a Chinese ship nearly collided with the USS Cowpens guided-missile cruiser after cutting in front of it from a distance of just 100 yards (meters).

“What we do know is this: China’s seizure of an American underwater drone is unprecedented,” Townshend said. “Over the past two years, Beijing has deliberately avoided risky or provocative tactical behavior in order to minimize the risk of a U.S.-China maritime crisis while it constructs a network of military outposts throughout the South China Sea.

“The incident on Thursday stands in stark contrast to China’s otherwise very cautious maritime behavior,” he added.

The move also comes just on the heels of a report released Wednesday detailing a “significant” build-up by China of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems on all seven of its man-made islands in the strategic waterway’s Spratly chain.

That revelation came despite a pledge last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping not to “militarize” the islands in the waters.

Beijing said it was “legitimate and lawful” for it to place defensive military equipment on islands where it had “indisputable sovereignty.”

“If someone was at the door of your home, cocky and swaggering, how could it be that you wouldn’t prepare a slingshot?” the Chinese Defense Ministry said Thursday in response to the report. The comments were likely in reference to U.S. “freedom of navigation” operations in the waters that have angered China. The last such operation came in October.

With Trump set to take office in just over a month on Jan. 20, the charged atmosphere in the area is unlikely to abate any time soon.

“Against a background of rising tensions in the South China Sea and Trump’s increasingly hawkish comments on China policy, this incident will be a serious test for U.S.-China relations,” Townshend said.
China's People's Liberation Army Navy seizes an underwater drone deployed by USNS Bowditch in the South China Sea; the United States files a formal diplomatic protest and a demand for its return.