Chinese seizure of US drone draws Trump’s ire

BEIJING — China said on Saturday its military seized a US Navy unmanned underwater glider in the South China Sea but it would give the drone back. But President-elect Donald Trump tweeted later that the Chinese government should be told “we don’t want the drone they stole back” and “let them keep it!” This comes after United States officials had confirmed that they “secured an understanding” for the return of the device. Trump’s evening tweet may extend one of the most serious incidents between the American and the Chinese militaries in years. The Chinese navy on Thursday seized the drone, which the Pentagon said was being operated by civilian contractors to conduct oceanic research. The US lodged a formal diplomatic complaint and demanded the drone back. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun issued a statement late Saturday saying that a Chinese navy lifeboat discovered an unknown device in the South China Sea on Thursday. “In order to prevent this device from posing a danger to the safe navigation of passing ships and personnel, the Chinese lifeboat adopted a professional and responsible attitude in investigating and verifying the device,” Yang said. The statement said that after confirming that the device was an American unmanned submerged device, “China decided to transfer it to the US through appropriate means.” The US said that “through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return” the unmanned underwater vehicle, according to a statement from Peter Cook, spokesman for US Defense Secretary Ash Carter. But Trump, after holding a rally to thank supporters for his election, took to Twitter to criticize the deal. “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!” the president-elect tweeted on Saturday evening. He earlier in the day had blasted the seizure. Misspelling “unprecedented,” he tweeted: “China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters — rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act.” He later reissued the tweet, correcting the spelling. The US said China’s “unlawful seizure” came in international waters. Yet China pointedly accused the US of long sending ships “in China’s presence” to conduct “military surveying.” “China is resolutely opposed to this and requests the US stop such activities,” it said. “China will continue to maintain vigilance against the relevant US activities and will take necessary measures to deal with them.” Earlier Saturday, China’s foreign ministry said the nation’s military was in contact with its American counterparts on “appropriately handling” the incident, though it offered no details on what discussions were underway. The drone was seized while collecting unclassified scientific data about 92 km northwest of Subic Bay near the Philippines in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Friday. “It is ours. It’s clearly marked as ours. We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again,” Davis said. He said the drone costs about $150,000 and is largely commercial, off-the-shelf technology.