Alwaght- US president-elect says his country should tell China that they do not want the seized underwater drone anymore and Beijing could keep it.
In a message on his Tweeter account, Donald Trump said “We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!”.
China seized a US under water drone spying near its territorial waters about 57 miles north-west of Subic Bay, near the Philippines, in the South China Sea.
In an earlier tweet he had described the act as unprecedented; however he did misspell the word as “unpresidented” causing a media hype.
Trump’s initial tweet was issued shortly after China’s foreign ministry said it was negotiating with the US over the vehicle, a “glider” used to collect unclassified scientific data.
A Pentagon spokesman said it was being operated by civilian contractors when it was seized on.
The unmanned vehicle was deployed by the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic and surveillance ship. A diplomatic complaint was issued by the US after its seizure, and its return demanded.
The area in which the submarine was taken is claimed by China virtually in its entirety. China has been building islands, and this week it was reported to have installed “significant” weaponry on them – including anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems.
On Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry said that American “hyping up” was not conducive to a smooth resolution of an incident that began when a Chinese naval vessel discovered a piece of “unidentified equipment” and checked it to prevent any navigational safety issues, before discovering it was a US drone.
