BEIJING (AP) — China said Saturday 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." 
 
 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. 
 
 "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. 
 
 Whatever the outcome, the incident is likely to fray the already tense relations between U.S. and China. Beijing was angered by President-elect Donald 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." ||||| President-elect Donald Trump has risked further inflaming US relations with China, after he used Twitter on Saturday to accuse China of an “unpresidented [sic] act” in its seizing of an unmanned American submarine this week. 
 
 Senior adviser on Trump's diplomacy: 'I can't keep up with the tweets' Read more 
 
 “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters – rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act,” Trump said, misspelling “unprecedented”. 
 
 The tweet was later reissued with the correct spelling of “unprecedented”. The tweet containing the error was deleted. 
 
 His message – itself without precedent given his status as a president-elect commenting on an international incident before assuming power – was likely to worsen fears of increased US-China tensions under his presidency that have grown over his rhetoric on trade and policy towards Taiwan. 
 
 Hours later, Trump suggested the US tell China it no longer wants its property returned. 
 
 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it! 
 
 Trump’s initial tweet was issued shortly after China’s foreign ministry said it was negotiating with the US over the vehicle, a “glider” used to collect unclassified scientific data. 
 
 A Pentagon spokesman said it was being operated by civilian contractors when it was seized on Thursday in international waters, about 57 miles north-west of Subic Bay, near the Philippines, in the South China Sea. 
 
 
 
 The unmanned vehicle was deployed by the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic and surveillance ship. A diplomatic complaint was issued by the US after its seizure, and its return demanded. 
 
 The area in which the submarine was taken is claimed by China virtually in its entirety. China has been building islands, and this week it was reported to have installed “significant” weaponry on them – including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems. 
 
 On Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that American “hyping up” was not conducive to a smooth resolution of an incident that began when 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. 
 
 Donald Trump faces Senate backlash over ‘cabinet of billionaires’ Read more 
 
 “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,” a statement on the ministry website said. 
 
 “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.” 
 
 Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook later said in a statement: “Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV [unmanned underwater vehicle] to the United States.” 
 
 On Friday, in a press conference at the White House, Barack Obama cautioned Trump against allowing relations with China to slip into “full conflict mode”. 
 
 
 
 Trump took a congratulatory phone call from the Taiwanese president earlier this month, breaking with nearly 40 years of US foreign policy orthodoxy, and then used a Fox News interview to question US “one China” policy on Taiwan, a breakaway island state which is not recognised by Beijing. 
 
 “The idea of ‘one China’ is at the heart of their conception as a nation,” Obama said, “and so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what are the consequences. 
 
 “Because the Chinese will not treat that the way they will treat some other issues. They won’t even treat it the way they treat issues around the South China Sea, where we have had a lot of tensions. This goes to the core of how they see themselves and their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant.” 
 
 On Thursday, Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Guardian the seizure of the drone looked “like signalling from the Chinese in response to Trump’s Taiwan call”. 
 
 “It is in China’s interest to send signals before Trump is inaugurated,” she said, “so that he gets the message and [will] be more restrained once he is office.” 
 
 Observers have suggested that both during the presidential campaign – in which Trump offered belligerent rhetoric against China over trade – and after his election victory, he has used outlandish statements on Twitter as a means of distraction when under pressure from the media and opponents. 
 
 
 
 White House faces exodus of foreign policy experts ahead of Trump's arrival Read more 
 
 He is currently facing the belief of the White House, the CIA, the FBI and other intelligence agencies that Russia sought to influence the election in his favour – claims he has rejected and ridiculed – and questions about his business holdings and conflicts of interest that will arise when he takes office. 
 
 Trump has also failed to stage a press conference since winning the election, instead embarking on a “thank you” tour of rallies in states which voted for him. 
 
 
 
 The electoral college, in which Trump beat Hillary Clinton 306-232 despite losing the popular vote by more than 2.8m ballots, meets on Monday to decide the election victor. 
 
 Some electors have indicated an intention not to vote for Trump, but not the 38 Republican electors it would take to send the decision to the House of Representatives. 
 
 Also on Saturday morning, Trump’s transition team released a statement announcing the nomination of the South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney, a budget “hawk” who has advocated deep federal spending cuts, as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
– In what appears to have been a spelling error and not a play on words, Donald Trump slammed China's "unpresidented" seizure of a US underwater drone in a tweet Saturday morning. "China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act," he tweeted. He eventually corrected the spelling to "unprecedented." The AP, which describes the Thursday incident in the South China Sea as one of the most serious encounters between the US and Chinese militaries in years, reports that China announced earlier on Saturday that it is in talks with the US about "appropriately handling" the issue. Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters Friday that the drone was seized while collecting scientific data near the Philippines. "It is ours. It's clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again," Davis said. The Guardian reports that in his Friday press conference, Obama warned Trump against letting relations with China enter "full conflict" mode with a belligerent stance on Taiwan and other issues. "The idea of 'One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation," Obama said, "and so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through what are the consequences."