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China Agrees to Return Seized Drone
BEIJING — The Pentagon on Saturday said that Beijing had agreed to return an underwater drone seized by China in international waters, an indication that the two countries were moving to resolve an unusual incident that risked sharpening tensions in the run-up to the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
“Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the U.U.V. to the United States,” said Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, using initials to refer to the Navy’s unmanned underwater vehicle.
Mr. Cook said the deal had been reached after the United States “registered our objection to China’s unlawful seizure of a U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle operating in international waters in the South China Sea.”
The Chinese authorities told American officials that they planned to return the drone, but the two sides were still working out where, when and precisely how the device would be handed back, said two Defense Department officials, both of whom would talk about the negotiations with China only on the condition of anonymity. One of the officials said the Pentagon expected the matter to be resolved in the coming days without further acrimony.
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The Pentagon statement came hours after China warned that the highly charged episode would not be resolved easily.
In a statement late Saturday, the Chinese Defense Ministry said it was in talks with the United States but criticized Washington for what it called an “inappropriate” exaggeration of the dispute. The American reaction, it said, is “not conducive to solving the problem smoothly.”
“We hereby express regrets for that,” it said.
Although the ministry said the drone would be returned to the United States in a “proper way,” the statement stopped short of saying when or how the device, which Chinese and American analysts say was most likely used to gather intelligence about Chinese submarine activity in contested waters, would be returned, or if it would be handed back intact.
President-elect Donald J. Trump entered the fray Saturday morning, accusing China on Twitter of acting improperly. “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act,” he said.
There are so many aspects of this about which I am curious.
BEIJING — The Pentagon on Saturday said that Beijing had agreed to return an underwater drone seized by China in international waters, an indication that the two countries were moving to resolve an unusual incident that risked sharpening tensions in the run-up to the inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
“Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the U.U.V. to the United States,” said Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, using initials to refer to the Navy’s unmanned underwater vehicle.
Mr. Cook said the deal had been reached after the United States “registered our objection to China’s unlawful seizure of a U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle operating in international waters in the South China Sea.”
The Chinese authorities told American officials that they planned to return the drone, but the two sides were still working out where, when and precisely how the device would be handed back, said two Defense Department officials, both of whom would talk about the negotiations with China only on the condition of anonymity. One of the officials said the Pentagon expected the matter to be resolved in the coming days without further acrimony.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
U.S. Demands Return of Drone Seized by Chinese Warship DEC. 16, 2016
China Suggests It Has Placed Weapons on Disputed Spratly Islands in South China Sea DEC. 15, 2016
Xi Again Defends China’s Claim to South China Sea Islands NOV. 7, 2015
NEWS ANALYSIS
White House Moves to Reassure Allies With South China Sea Patrol, but Quietly OCT. 27, 2015
The Pentagon statement came hours after China warned that the highly charged episode would not be resolved easily.
In a statement late Saturday, the Chinese Defense Ministry said it was in talks with the United States but criticized Washington for what it called an “inappropriate” exaggeration of the dispute. The American reaction, it said, is “not conducive to solving the problem smoothly.”
“We hereby express regrets for that,” it said.
Although the ministry said the drone would be returned to the United States in a “proper way,” the statement stopped short of saying when or how the device, which Chinese and American analysts say was most likely used to gather intelligence about Chinese submarine activity in contested waters, would be returned, or if it would be handed back intact.
President-elect Donald J. Trump entered the fray Saturday morning, accusing China on Twitter of acting improperly. “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act,” he said.
There are so many aspects of this about which I am curious.
- Early reports stressed this was not a military application, but simply a drone to map the bottom of the sea. That, of course, made me suspicious.
- China is promising to return the drone - but I'm guessing they're examining, and possibly reverse engineering it as we speak.
- Given the Obama administration's HORRIBLE negotiation 'skilz', I'm wondering if a plane load of unmarked currency is headed to China.
- This kinda reminds me of the intelligence coup China gained when they disassembled a US Navy EP3 spy plane that landed at China's Lingshui base, and subsequently returned it in pieces.
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