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| China 'seizes US vessel' in S China Sea | China 'seizes US vessel' in S China Sea |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US has issued a formal request to China to deliver an unmanned underwater drone that was seized in international waters, US officials say. | |
| The Chinese navy seized the US underwater research vessel in the South China Sea on Thursday, the US alleges. | |
| The incident took place just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve it. | |
| The device, dubbed a "naval glider", was used to test water salinity and temperature, officials say. | |
| The data was part of an unclassified programme to map underwater channels, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity. | |
| "It was taken" by China, a US official told the media. | |
| "The UUV [unmanned underwater vehicle] was lawfully conducting a military survey in the waters of the South China Sea," the official said. | |
| "It's a sovereign immune vessel, clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was US property." | |
| The unnamed official added that the encounter occurred about 50 miles (80km) northwest of Subic Bay in the South China Sea. |