China hands back US drone but regional tensions expected to linger

Two sides make exchange near where seizure occurred in South China Sea, Pentagon says, but analysts say incident has implication for region under Trump presidency

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An underwater glider like the US drone taken by Beijing last week. Photo: US Navy

Published: 1:15pm, 20 Dec 2016Updated: 7:06am, 21 Dec 2016

China has returned a US underwater drone taken last week by a Chinese naval vessel in the South China Sea, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Observers said the incident might have been resolved in only a few days but it raised concerns in the region about the security implications of China’s rising military might.

The defence ministry said the handover of the underwater drone took place in the South China Sea “after friendly negotiations between China and the United States”.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the handling of the issueshowed the “smooth military-to-military communications” between the two countries.

The Pentagon said the vehicle was handed over to the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin near where it had been “unlawfully seized”.

The oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch, shown here in 2002, which deployed the underwater drone seized by the PLA Navy in international waters in the South China Sea on December 15. Photo: Reuters

“The US remains committed to upholding the accepted principles and norms of international law and freedom of navigation and overflight and will continue to fly, sail, and operate in the South China Sea wherever international law allows,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.