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> The Chinese government has returned the US unmanned underwater drone it seized last week in the South China Sea, according to Chinese and US officials.

"After friendly consultations between China and the United States, the transfer of the US underwater drone was smoothly completed," a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Defense said.

The Pentagon said the United States would continue to investigate the events surrounding the incident.

Developing story - more to come </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> 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> The United States expects China to return an underwater drone "relatively soon" after a Chinese naval vessel seized it in the South China Sea last week, triggering U.S. protests, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

One scenario saw a U.S. Navy destroyer receiving the drone from China at an agreed upon location in the South China Sea, one of the officials said. Both officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said talks with China were progressing.

The Pentagon says the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV) used unclassified, commercially available technology to collect scientific data about things like the salinity, temperature and clarity of the water. </s> China has returned a U.S. underwater drone taken by one of its naval vessels in the disputed South China Sea last week after what it said were friendly talks with the United States, which reiterated its criticism of the “unlawful” seizure.

The taking of the unmanned underwater vehicle in international waters near the Philippines triggered a diplomatic protest and speculation about whether it would strengthen U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s hand as he seeks a tougher line with China.

Read also: Is China prepared for a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations?

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 brief statement the drone had been given back to the United States on Tuesday.

“After friendly consultations between the Chinese and U.S. sides, the handover work for the U.S. underwater drone was smoothly completed in relevant waters in the South China Sea at midday,” the ministry said.

The defense ministry declined to give more details about the handover when contacted by Reuters.

The Pentagon said the vehicle had been handed over to the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin near where it had been “unlawfully seized”. It called on China to comply with international law and refrain from further efforts to impede lawful U.S. activities.

“The U.S. remains committed to upholding the accepted principles and norms of international law and freedom of navigation and overflight and will continue to fly, sail, and operate in the South China Sea wherever international law allows,” Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying referred questions about the handover and other details of the case to the defense ministry.

“The handling of this incident shows that the Chinese and U.S. militaries have quite smooth communication channels. We think that this communication channel is beneficial to timely communication and the handling of sudden incidents and prevention of miscalculations and misunderstandings,” she said.

“As to what the U.S. defense department said, I have to verify it with the military. But I think what they said is unreasonable as we have always said that for a long time the U.S. military has regularly sent ships and aircraft to carry out close up surveillance and military surveys in waters facing China, which threatens China’s sovereignty and security,” Hua told reporters.

“China is resolutely opposed to this and has always demanded the U.S. end these kinds of activities. I think this is the cause of this or similar incidents.”

The seizure has added to U.S. concern about China’s growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts.

China is deeply suspicious of any U.S. military activity in the resource-rich South China Sea, with state media and experts saying the use of the drone was likely part of U.S. surveillance efforts in the disputed waterway.

The U.S. Navy has about 130 such underwater drones, made by Teledyne Webb, each weighing about 60 kg (130 lb) and able to stay underwater for up to five months. They are used around the world to collect unclassified data about oceans, including temperature and depth.

It is not clear how many are used in the South China Sea. </s> China has returned a U.S. underwater drone taken by one of its naval vessels in the disputed South China Sea last week after what it said were friendly talks with the United States, which reiterated its criticism of the “unlawful” seizure.

The taking of the unmanned underwater vehicle in international waters near the Philippines triggered a diplomatic protest and speculation about whether it would strengthen U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s hand as he seeks a tougher line with China.

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 defence ministry said in a brief statement the drone had been given back to the United States on Tuesday. “After friendly consultations between the Chinese and U.S. sides, the handover work for the U.S. underwater drone was smoothly completed in relevant waters in the South China Sea at midday,” the ministry said.

The Pentagon said the vehicle had been handed over to the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin near where it had been”unlawfully seized”.

It also called on China to comply with international law and refrain from further efforts to impede lawful U.S. activities. — Reuters </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> China has returned a US underwater drone taken by one of its naval vessels in the disputed South China Sea last week after what it said were friendly talks with the United States. However, the US reiterated its criticism of the “unlawful” seizure.

The taking of the unmanned underwater vehicle in international waters near the Philippines triggered a diplomatic protest and speculation about whether it would strengthen US president-elect Donald Trump’s hand as he seeks a tougher line with China.

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 defence ministry said in a brief statement that the drone had been given back to the United States on Tuesday.

“After friendly consultations between the Chinese and US sides, the handover work for the US underwater drone was smoothly completed in relevant waters in the South China Sea at midday,” the ministry said.

The defence ministry declined to give more details about the handover.

The Pentagon said the vehicle had been handed over to the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin near where it had been “unlawfully seized”. It called on China to comply with international law and refrain from further efforts to impede lawful US activities.

“The US remains committed to upholding the accepted principles and norms of international law and freedom of navigation and overflight and will continue to fly, sail and operate in the South China Sea wherever international law allows,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying referred questions about the handover and other details of the case to the defence ministry.

“The handling of this incident shows that the Chinese and US militaries have quite smooth communication channels. We think that this communication channel is beneficial to timely communication and the handling of sudden incidents and prevention of miscalculations and misunderstandings,” she said.

“As to what the US defence department said, I have to verify it with the military. But I think what they said is unreasonable as we have always said that for a long time the US military has regularly sent ships and aircraft to carry out close-up surveillance and military surveys in waters facing China, which threatens China’s sovereignty and security.

“China is resolutely opposed to this and has always demanded the US end these kinds of activities. I think this is the cause of this or similar incidents.”

The seizure has added to US concern about China’s growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarisation of maritime outposts.

China is deeply suspicious of any US military activity in the resource-rich South China Sea, with state media and experts saying the use of the drone was likely part of US surveillance efforts in the disputed waterway. </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.
The Chinese Defense Ministry says it is in talks with the United States about returning an underwater drone taken Thursday from the South China Sea. The Pentagon says the drone, used for gathering weather and temperature data, is not armed.