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PTI | Last Updated: Saturday, December 17, 2016 - 12:36
Beijing:
China expects a smooth resolution to the seizure by its navy of unidentified equipment found in the South China Sea, a state-run newspaper said on Saturday, after U.S. officials said a
Chinese warship had taken a U.S. underwater drone.
The drone was taken on Thursday, the first seizure of its kind in recent memory, about
50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay off the Philippines just as the USNS Bowditch was about to retrieve the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), U.S. officials said.
China's influential state-run tabloid the Global Times, citing an unidentified Chinese source, said a Chinese naval vessel had discovered "unidentified equipment" and checked it to prevent any navigational safety issues.
"This person said China has already received a claim request for the equipment from the U.S. side, relevant parties from both sides have maintained smooth communication channels, and believe this issue will be smoothly resolved," the paper said.
China's defense and foreign ministries have yet to comment publicly on the issue.
"The UUV was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It`s a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was U.S. property," the official said.
The Pentagon confirmed the incident at a news briefing on Friday, and said the drone used commercially available technology and sold for about $150,000.
Still, the Pentagon viewed China`s seizure seriously since it had effectively taken U.S. military property.
"It is ours, and it is clearly marked as ours and we would like it back. And we would like this not to happen again," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said.
HEIGHTENED CONCERNS
The seizure will add to concerns about China`s increased military presence and aggressive posture in the disputed South China Sea, including its militarization of maritime outposts.
It coincided with sabre-rattling from Chinese state media and some in its military establishment after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump cast doubt on whether Washington would stick to its nearly four-decades-old policy of recognizing that Taiwan is part of "one China."
President Barack Obama said on Friday it was appropriate for Trump to take a fresh look at U.S. policy toward Taiwan, but he cautioned that a shift could lead to significant consequences in the U.S. relationship with Beijing, as the notion that Taiwan is part of "one China" is central to China`s view of itself as a nation.
First Published: Saturday, December 17, 2016 - 12:36
A new agreement between the United States and the Philippines clears the way for a new permanent American military presence across five bases that will support rotational deployments near the contested South China Sea.
The bases include:
Antonio Bautista Air Base. Located near the capital of the island province of Palawan, which is strategically located near the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Basa Air Base. Located about 40 miles northwest of the Philippines' capital, Manila, the air base was originally constructed by the U.S. Army Air Corps before the Second World War.
Fort Magsaysay. Located on the northern Island of Luzon, Fort Magsaysay is the largest military installation in the Philippines, and is one of the primary training areas of the Philippine Army.
Lumbia Air Base. Located on the southern island of Mindanao, the air base is connected to a civilian airport. Local media reports say construction of a new U.S. facility will begin soon.
Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base. Located on Mactan Island of the coast of Cebu in the central Philippines. It was originally built by the U.S. Air Force before the American pullout in the early 1990s.
Antonio Bautista Air Base on Palawan is very close to the Spratly Islands where China has made its controversial territorial claims. "That puts them much closer to the scene where the Chinese are using what we consider to be illegitimate activities," he said.
The announcement of the five bases comes almost two years after President Obama visited the Philippines in 2014 and signed a new 10-year agreement with the former U.S colony. The future U.S. activity in the Philippines may include Marine Corps units rotating through the country like the ongoing mission in Darwin, Australia.
