China returns underwater drone to US
BEIJING -- China on Tuesday gave back a U.S. Navy drone captured last
week, averting serious conflict for now even as friction in the South
China Sea intensifies.
The unmanned underwater vehicle was returned in a smooth hand-off at noon following amicable discussions on the matter, China's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement Tuesday. According to the U.S., the handover occurred in international waters some 90km northwest of the Philippines' Subic Bay, near the area in the South China Sea where the drone was captured last Thursday.
An unmanned underwater vehicle
The five-day turnaround is fairly swift as such incidents go. China took around three months in 2001 to return a U.S. military intelligence plane making an emergency landing on Hainan Island after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet, putting bilateral relations on ice. Beijing pledged to return the drone soon after it was captured to avoid another chill in relations. The U.S., for its part, responded calmly to the incident, eager to avoid heightening tensions during President Barack Obama's last month in office.
That the drone was not engaged in particularly sensitive work may have also played a role in the quick return. The device is said to be part of a program collecting data such as ocean temperature and salinity that could help improve the accuracy of military sonar readings.
Collected
The unmanned underwater vehicle was returned in a smooth hand-off at noon following amicable discussions on the matter, China's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement Tuesday. According to the U.S., the handover occurred in international waters some 90km northwest of the Philippines' Subic Bay, near the area in the South China Sea where the drone was captured last Thursday.
An unmanned underwater vehicle
The five-day turnaround is fairly swift as such incidents go. China took around three months in 2001 to return a U.S. military intelligence plane making an emergency landing on Hainan Island after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet, putting bilateral relations on ice. Beijing pledged to return the drone soon after it was captured to avoid another chill in relations. The U.S., for its part, responded calmly to the incident, eager to avoid heightening tensions during President Barack Obama's last month in office.
That the drone was not engaged in particularly sensitive work may have also played a role in the quick return. The device is said to be part of a program collecting data such as ocean temperature and salinity that could help improve the accuracy of military sonar readings.
Collected
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