China returns US drone, but war of words goes on

Pentagon describes seizure as unlawful; Beijing calls for end to US surveillance

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China's Foreign Ministry says it's returned a US underwater drone taken by one of Beijing's naval vessels last week.
The oceanographic survey ship USNS Bowditch which deployed an underwater drone seized by a Chinese Navy warship in international waters in the South China Sea on Dec 15, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

China has returned the underwater drone it captured in the South China Sea last week to the United States, even as both sides continued to spar verbally over the incident.

"After friendly consultations between the Chinese and US sides, the handover was smoothly completed at midday," China's Ministry of National Defence said yesterday.

The Pentagon concurred, saying the drone was handed over to guided missile destroyer USS Mustin near where it was taken, 50 nautical miles north-west of Subic Bay in the Philippines. But it also criticised China for how it had "unlawfully seized" the drone.

"The incident was inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said.

The Pentagon had earlier said that the drone was being used to carry out scientific research when it was taken in international waters.

In its statement yesterday, it urged the Chinese authorities to comply with their obligations under international law and refrain from efforts to impede lawful US activities.

"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, in the same way that we operate everywhere else around the world," it said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry yesterday objected to the Pentagon's criticism, calling it "unreasonable".

"We have always said that, for a long time, the US military has regularly sent ships and aircraft to carry out close-up surveillance and military surveys in waters facing China, which threatens China's sovereignty and security," ministry spokesman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular press conference.

"China is resolutely opposed to this and has always demanded the US end these kinds of activities. I think this is the cause of this or similar incidents," she added.

The drone was seized last Thursday by a Chinese navy ship just as the USNS Bowditch, which operates the drone, was about to retrieve it from the sea.

Security analyst Li Mingjiang of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies believed the drone was returned quite quickly, less than a week after its seizure, probably as both sides did not want the issue to disrupt bilateral ties.

"The Chinese military and especially the navy realised the drone was probably not particularly for the collection of sensitive military or naval information. So they probably concluded that the drone was not a big threat to China's national security," he added.

He said it was also likely that Chinese leaders believed they had sent a signal to the US that, in the South China Sea, China would not back down no matter what pressure the US exerted on it, and that it would not tolerate US plans to deploy such drones in the waterway in future.

With their objectives met, "there was no incentive for China to keep it longer".

But Associate Professor Li did not think China had demanded that the US cease its surveillance activities in the area in Sino-US talks on the drone, given that the US was unlikely to accede to such demands.

However, for incidents such as this not to happen again, said Chinese security expert Wang Xiangsui, the US had to refrain from its surveillance activities in the region.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 21, 2016, with the headline China returns US drone, but war of words goes on. Subscribe