China Hopes to Settle US Underwater Drone Capture Issue - Army Source

China is in contact with the United States over its earlier seizure of an unmanned US oceanographic vessel in the South China Sea and hopes for the issue to be settled, a Chinese army source said Saturday.

BEIJING (Sputnik) — On Friday, reports emerged of a Chinese warship seizing a US underwater drone in the international waters of the disputed South China Sea region. On Thursday, USNS Bowditch, a US oceanographic vessel, stopped some 100 miles off the port at Subic Bay in the Philippines to pick up two drones when a Chinese vessel captured one of them, according to US defense officials. The US Department of Defense demanded for the drone to be immediately returned, calling the capture illegal.

"The Chinese army has received a US request regarding the equipment, relevant ministries from the two countries are in contact, we hope that this situation is successfully resolved," a source from the People's Liberation Army told the Global Times newspaper.

The drone had been captured by a Chinese navy ship as an unidentified object, the source added, stressing this was done out of security considerations and the vessel was subjected to identification friend or foe (IFF) checks.

Meanwhile, the United States alleged that China ignored requests for the vehicle to be returned.

The drone is not a classified piece of equipment and is used to gather data on water temperature, salinity and the speed of sound, according Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook.

Washington and Beijing interests clash in the South China Sea, with China and US allies, including the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam, having competing territorial claims. The US Navy continues patrols in the area despite Chinese protests.