MOSCOW (Sputnik) — China has returned a US underwater drone it captured in the South China Sea, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook confirmed on Tuesday.
China has returned unlawfully seized UUV to @USNavy. Transfer took place near spot where Glider was taken last week. Full statement here pic.twitter.com/fveL6GL18d
— Peter Cook (@PentagonPresSec) 20 декабря 2016 г.
Earlier, the Chinese Defense Ministry stated that China had transferred the detained underwater drone to the United States.
On Thursday, US oceanographic vessel USNS Bowditch stopped some 100 miles off the port at Subic Bay in the Philippines to pick up two drones when a Chinese vessel captured one of them, according to US defense officials.