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China agrees to return U.S. drone seized in South China Sea, Pentagon says

China agrees to return U.S. drone seized in South China Sea, Pentagon says.

Chinas Defense Ministry says it will recompense the U.S. Navy underwater drone it captured in society in international waters in the South China Sea, after it seized the device to ensure the safe navigation of passing ships.

Yang Yujun, a ministry spokesman, issued a avowal late Saturday proverb a Chinese navy lifeboat discovered the unnamed device in the South China Sea regarding Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Chinas Defense Ministry said that, after verifying that the device was an American unmanned device, China settled to transfer it to the U.S. through take possession of means.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook declared that "through inform incorporation following Chinese authorities, we have secured an settlement that the Chinese will reward the UUV to the United States," he said in a avowal using an acronym for the unmanned underwater vehicle.

China's gloss ministry said it originally seized the drone to prevent this device from posing a agonized to the fasten navigation of passing ships and personnel, the confirmation said, according to AP. It accessory: "the Chinese lifeboat adopted a professional and liable attitude in investigating and verifying the device."

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in concerning the incident earlier Saturday, accusing China of stealing the drone.

"China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented deed," Trump said in an at the forefront hours of daylight tweet.

Trump originally misspelled unprecedented as "unpresidented" but difficult deleted the tweet and reposted.

China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented battle.
 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2016
The incident comes in the middle of renewed tensions amid China and the U.S. after the election of Trump, whos vowed to profit tough upon Chinese trade policies and stirred violence in Beijing after a 10-minute phone call plus Taiwan President Tsi Ing-wen. It was the first by a U.S. president or president-elect past President Jimmy Carter confirmed in 1979 China's viewpoint that Taiwan is share of One China.

In its avowal, China furthermore accused the U.S. of deploying ships in Chinas presence to conduct reconnaissance and military surveying. China is resolutely all along this and requests the U.S. subside such behavior.

The drone was launched by the USNS Bowditch, a civilian crewed oceanographic ship that is operated by the Military Sealift Command, off the coast of the Philippines. These types of drones, called gliders, typically cumulative unclassified data, such as water temperatures and salinity levels.

According to Cook, the drone is not armed and is used for addition weather and temperature data. The incident occurred Thursday.

The Bowditch was just very very about to recover the glider back a Chinese Dalang III class Chinese warship approached within 500 yards of the Bowditch, launched a little vessel and snatched the drone out of the water, the Pentagon said.

The ship brought the device statement to the Chinese warship, which subsequently headed away.

The Bowditch contacted the Chinese vessel by radio and demanded the recompense of the glider. The Chinese ship conventional the radio transmission but ignored the demand to recompense it, the Pentagon said.

The U.S. running had issued a dmarche, or political life, again the incident, demanding its reward.


Source:Usatoday

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