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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| China returns seized USN underwater drone after 'friendly consultations' |
| 2016-12-21 |
| China has handed back an American underwater drone it seized from international waters in the contentious South China Sea. Beijing’s defence ministry said it returned the unmanned vehicle after “friendly consultations”. The drone was given back close to where it was taken, around 92km north-west of Subic Bay in the Philippines, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. Civilian contractors were using the drone to collect unclassified scientific data in international waters, according to the US. Officials say a non-combat ship was recovering two drones when a Chinese boat approached, launched a small boat and picked up one of them. Mr Cook said the US would continue to investigate the event, which happened on Thursday near the Philippines. The incident took place inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and the country described the incident as “very troubling” and increased the likelihood of “miscalculations that could lead to open confrontation.” The incident was one of the most serious confrontations between the superpowers in decades and further escalated tensions between the countries. Beijing had been angered by President-elect Donald Trump’s public questioning of the One China Policy and by the future leader’s willingness to take a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier in December. The seizure has added to US concerns about China's growing military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarisation of maritime outposts. In a brief statement, China's Defence Ministry said the drone had been given back to the United States. "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 on 20 December," the ministry said in a short statement. The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for more details about the handover. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #3 My guess is they looked inside and saw that everything was 'made in China'.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2016-12-21 14:02 |
| #2 next one might have an "anti-tampering device, Mr. Han. |
| Posted by: Clem Shiger8841 2016-12-21 13:40 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2016-12-21 13:39 |