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China’s Navy seizes American underwater drone in South China Sea

A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday. The incident, the first of its kind in recent…

A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea, triggering a formal diplomatic protest from the United States and a demand for its return, a U.S. defense official told Reuters on Friday.

The incident, the first of its kind in recent memory, took place on Dec. 15 northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle (UUV), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," the official said.

via www.cnbc.com

This is, of course, a deliberate provocation by the Chinese. How closely it is tied to US presidential politics, who knows?

The Chinese have been behaving obnoxiously in the region for some time now.

Mind you, this is a measured provocation- note that seizing property is quite different from seizing personnel.

As to the Chinese response to our demarche, I suspect the reply will be something along the lines of 'or what?"

Personally, my thinking is, if the PLAN wants to play a little rough with our oceanographic research ships, we should advise those masters to ram the Chinese.

Rubbin' is racin'.

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Responses to “China’s Navy seizes American underwater drone in South China Sea”

  1. KenH

    They know Boingo only has 34 days left on the clock.
    But if this is some sort of response for Donnie taking a phone call from Taiwan, it’s retarded in the extreme. Since , HE aint BOINGO. And you can pretty much guarantee whatever response he has in mind, won’t involve tiny fists flailing and having a spaz attack like dear leader this afternoon.

    Like

  2. Krag

    If the drone is really what the US claims it is, this whole thing comes off as very lame by the Chinese. You show the world you are thieves by blatantly scooping up a not-cutting-edge UUV – way to go! There wasn’t even any technical finesse involved.
    What was the point other than belittling themselves?

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  3. ultimaratioregis

    To paraphrase the immortal SKK, all Obama will do is prance about in a snit, swinging his purse at the Chinese…

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  4. Heltau

    In the coming days we will find out what is going to be done about this probe.
    Course that is the captain obvious isn’t.
    Merry Christmass to all, and hopefully a lot better 4 years a coming.

    Like

  5. Esli

    We just had a major general from the PLA come to the war college to address us. He basically explained how the US was consistently the provocateur in the South China Sea. A student asked something to the effect of why were the Chinese cutting off the other nations in the SCS and he looks around the audience and announces that he doesn’t see the president of the Philllipines and so doesn’t answer. I don’t want to misrepresent his tone but he was both funny and cocky. Interestingly though, there was a student in my class who speaks a little Mandarin Chinese who told me later that the guy was saying “umm” a lot and seemed flustered by the hard questions. I thought about standing up and asking him “so; you think you could take us?” But I concluded that this wasn’t scholarly….

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  6. timactual

    Unfortunately I am not surprised that the Navy doesn’t seem to have learned anything from the USS Pueblo incident.

    Like

  7. ultimaratioregis

    @Esli,
    The answer to the question “you think you can take us?” is increasingly becoming “yes”. They see us lacking the will, and they (and our allies) see our means shrinking.

    Like

  8. Jaedo Drax

    Perhaps it might be an idea to retrofit an ice breaker for oceanic studies in the south china sea

    Like

  9. Paul L. Quandt

    As I have written before, we are going to have to fight the PRC. Perhaps to next POTUS will have the balls to do this.
    Paul L. Quandt

    Like

  10. Casey

    The way to WW1 was accelerated by the unshakeable belief that a war (between France & Germany, Serbia & Austria, pick any 2) was inevitable.
    We don’t have to start a hot war with China to achieve our goals. In fact we managed to get through something called the “Cold War” for nearly 50 years without a shooting engagement.

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  11. Paul L. Quandt

    Well Casey, the USSR knew that they couldn’t beat us. The PRC likely thinks it can. Between now and 20 Jan. is a very dangerous time.
    Paul

    Like

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