China on Tuesday handed back to the United States an underwater drone whose seizure raised tensions in a relationship that has been tested by President-elect Donald Trump’s signals of a tougher policy toward Beijing.
(FOX)- Last week’s seizure near the Philippines prompted a new volley of criticism by Trump, who has riled the Chinese leadership by saying he might reconsider policy toward Taiwan, the self-ruled island the mainland claims as its territory.
The Chinese navy vessel that seized the drone returned it near where it had been taken, and it was received by the USS Mustin about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement. Cook said Washington considered the seizure illegal.
“This incident was inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea,” he said, adding that the U.S. has called on China to refrain from “further efforts to impede lawful U.S. activities.”
The statement said the U.S. would continue to “fly, sail, and operate in the South China Sea wherever international law allows.” Such freedom of navigation missions in which U.S. ships sail near China’s artificial islands draw warnings and rebukes from Beijing.
China’s defense ministry said in a statement that it handed the drone back after “friendly consultations.”