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A Chinese ship has reportedly seized an underwater survey drone in full sight of a US Navy contracted research vessel.
The drone was taken on Dec. 15, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory, about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), officials said.
"The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was U.S. property," the official said.
From the CNN report:
The US got no answer from the Chinese on the radio when it said the drone was American property, the official said.
[...] US oceanographic research vessels are often followed in the water under the assumption they are spying. In this case, however, the drone was simply measuring ocean conditions, the official said.
Some background on why the South China Sea is such a tense place.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Appalbarry on Saturday December 17 2016, @10:18PM
I wouldn't put much faith in what either side is claiming. It seems unlikely that a US military submersible is off doing strictly charitable work, and equally unlikely that the Chinese didn't know exactly what they were doing - trolling Trump.
I expect a that there is layer upon layer of subtext, with both sides understanding all of it perfectly well. The Chinese want to demonstrate that they pown the China Sea, and the US wants to demonstrate that they pown the whole damned world.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 17 2016, @10:41PM
International waters are just that, international. And as long as the US was operating in international waters, the PLAN had no business seizing the drone.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Saturday December 17 2016, @10:55PM
Precisely. As long as the drone was in international waters, the operators only have to answer to the US government, not the Chinese government.
If the Chinese want to go harrassing their ships over Chinese law, they have their right to do that, but they don't have the right to harass foreign vessels operating in international waters.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by jmorris on Sunday December 18 2016, @12:22AM
equally unlikely that the Chinese didn't know exactly what they were doing - trolling Trump.
They can't be trolling Trump yet with something like this. Doing it now means they are giving Obama another middle finger, like when they wouldn't give Air Force One a boarding ladder and made him exit through the belly hatch. They have made it pretty clear they neither respect nor fear him.
All new Presidents get tested early on by a foreign power or two as they probe to see just how far they can push them around. It is going to be fascinating to see which one opts to be the one to test Trump first. For example China tested both Bush II and Obama with an air incident right after they took office. Both failed, Obama abjectly, and that set the pattern for the rest of their terms. This incident isn't nearly as humiliating as Iran seizing a U.S. Navy vessel with a few rubber speedboats. All I know is when it happens next year it will be "must see TV" because nobody, and I mean nobody, has a clue what Trump will do. But bet on unconventional and interesting.
Although some think Trump was getting a jump on the game by taking that call from Taiwan, going first in the game by being unexpected. But China can't be thinking they are getting even with this incident because Trump can't react to the provocation and thus they don't gain anything over him.
(Score: 2) by BK on Sunday December 18 2016, @01:16PM
Can't really fault your logic here. In the to incidents you mention, what should BII and BHO have done?
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Sunday December 18 2016, @04:30PM
Since the Chinese were clearly in the wrong in causing the accident and detained the crew instead of simply offering the assistance due any plane calling an emergency they should have been punished in some way instead of a joint statement that "allowed both countries to save face while defusing a potentially volatile situation". No admission of wrongdoing, no reparations, no promise to obey the customs of rendering assistance, nothing. China respects strength so if they balked at taking the hit from accepting full responsibility I'd have just dropped in a press conference the blunt public warning that since our pilot was awesome enough to get our people safely down we would continue working to resolve this issue peacefully but another unprovoked attack on one of our aircraft would be considered an act of war and we would do what we always do to keep the seas and skies open. Then say nothing more and let em stew for a year.
For anyone else, this Hainan Island Incident should help.
Not bothering to dig through the pages of hits about the Obama G20 incident over the boarding ladder to get to details of Obama's more serious failure, but the same solution applies. As to the ass exit incident, i'd have ordered the pilot to make a final request for one and after ten minutes filed a request for refueling and a revised flight plan. The games would have instantly stopped, the point being made.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 19 2016, @03:59AM
Haha, because having Obama have a hissy fit and running home from the G20 wouldn't be a propaganda benefit to anyone...