A Chinese Navy
warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic
vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal
diplomatic protest from the US and a demand for its return, a US defence
official said.
The naval glider was
used to test water salinity and temperatures to help in the mapping of underwater
channels, the official said, before adding it was taken by China in
international waters about 50 miles off Subic
Bay.
The incident took place on Thursday just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle, the official said.
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.
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