Story highlights China seized drone last week in international waters off Philippines

The Pentagon says the US will continue investigating the incident

(CNN) The Chinese government has returned the US underwater drone it seized last week in the South China Sea, according to Chinese and US officials. Read more: China says it seized U.S. drone to ensure safety of ships

A Chinese naval ship took the drone, which the Pentagon says uses unclassified, commercially available technology to collect oceanographic data, on Thursday about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines. China’s defense ministry said in a statement that it handed the drone back after “friendly consultations.”

Chinese officials say the drone was removed from the water to ensure the safety of passing ships, but domestic political experts have read the move as a warning to Trump not to test Beijing’s resolve over Taiwan. “This puts the U.S. and China into contending trajectories, but neither side has the strategic interest to escalate beyond these low-level incidents.”

The U.S. said the drone was being operated by civilian contractors collecting unclassified scientific data in international waters. “This incident was inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea,” he said, adding that the U.S. has called on China to refrain from “further efforts to impede lawful U.S. activities.”

The statement said the U.S. would continue to “fly, sail, and operate in the South China Sea wherever international law allows.” Such freedom of navigation missions in which U.S. ships sail near China’s artificial islands draw warnings and rebukes from Beijing.
The People's Republic of China returns a United States unmanned underwater drone that it seized in the South China Sea last week.