China captures US naval underwater drone in South China Sea

Asia-Pacific, News, US December 17, 2016 , by IRIA No Comments

Chinese naval ship seized an unmanned U.S. underwater vehicle in the South China Sea

A Chinese Navy ship intercepted and grabbed a small, unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) being operated by a US Navy survey ship on Thursday in the South China Sea.

China’s action has triggered a formal diplomatic protest from the US and a demand for its return.

Pentagon has confirmed that the Chinese naval ship seized an underwater naval drone that was being used by the U.S. Navy to test water conditions in the South China Sea.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the incident occurred on Dec. 15 about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, in international waters in the South China Sea.

The USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey vessel with a mostly civilian crew, was in the process of recovering two unmanned ocean gliders, which are used to collect information about water conditions that can help U.S. vessels operate.

A Chinese ship, a Dalang-III class submarine rescue vessel, approached the area, coming within about 500 yards of the Bowditch before dropping a small boat in the water. It seized one of the gliders and brought it aboard, Davis said.

The incident is the latest in a string of confrontations in the region.

“China is very sensitive about unmanned underwater vehicles because they can track our nuclear ballistic missile submarines fleet,” said retired Major General Xu Guangyu, a senior researcher at Beijing-based research group the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. “If one from the Bowditch can be detected and even snatched by a Chinese naval ship, it shows it’s getting too close to the sensitive water areas.”

Pentagon demands China return intercepted U.S. Naval Drone

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook issued a statement Friday afternoon calling upon the Chinese government to immediately return the drone.

“We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement Friday.

The ocean glider has been described by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as “an autonomous, unmanned underwater vehicle used for ocean science.”

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China Sea, which is laced with the world’s most heavily travelled international trade routes.

The vessel’s seizure comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims to the region.