China Says It Will Return the Underwater Drone It Seized From the US (thehill.com)
An anonymous reader quotes The Hill:
China said Saturday it will return the unmanned U.S. drone it seized in the South China Sea, calling the issue "hyped up" by the U.S. "Upon confirming that the device was a U.S. underwater drone, the Chinese side decided to transfer it to the U.S. side in an appropriate manner," said the spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry, Sr. Col. Yang Yujun, according to CNN. "China and the United States have been communicating about this process. It is inappropriate -- and unhelpful for a resolution -- that the U.S. has unilaterally hyped up the issue. We express our regret over that."
A Defense Ministry spokesman added that China opposes U.S. "surveillance and military surveys in waters facing China...and demands the U.S. cease such activities. China will stay alert over relevant U.S. activities and will take necessary measures to counter them."
A Defense Ministry spokesman added that China opposes U.S. "surveillance and military surveys in waters facing China...and demands the U.S. cease such activities. China will stay alert over relevant U.S. activities and will take necessary measures to counter them."
Happens all the time. In the 70's, a Mig25 landed in Japan, pilot defected with the plane, and "owners manual". Russia was hopping mad and wanted it back, and they did...in a big box ;)
I'm sure the US underwater drone, by the time it is returned will have been photographed, scanned, dismantled
and every ounce of anything copied.
It's how it works.
"It is inappropriate -- and unhelpful for a resolution -- that the U.S. has unilaterally hyped up the issue. We express our regret over that.""
They express regret over the US being upset at their actions. Umm, okay.
Similarly, the phrase "waters facing China" in the quote in the summary is a lie. This was the open ocean, not "waters facing China."
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
If we found a Chinese drone within a few hundred miles of Los Angeles, you KNOW we would pick it up and turn it into an incident. What they are doing is no different. It's a risk we take deploying drones near other countries.