GOP senators call for ‘firm response’ to Chinese seizure of Navy drone

Republican senators are calling for a “firm response” to China’s seizure of a Navy drone, including recalling the U.S. ambassador to China until the drone is returned.

“This brazenly hostile act is outrageous and must be met with a firm response. The U.S. Navy was operating in international waters conducting a standard exercise, and China should return the underwater vehicle immediately,” said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). 

{mosads}Gardner is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said in a statement, “The United States must not stand for such outrageous conduct.

“The Chinese Navy’s seizure of a U.S. unmanned oceanographic vessel in international waters is a flagrant violation of the freedom of the seas. China had no right to seize this vehicle,” he added. 

The incident occurred Thursday around noon local time in international waters off the coast of the Philippines, according to a defense official. 

The USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was preparing to retrieve its unmanned drone out of the water as part of its typical mission to collect data on the ocean and weather patterns, the official said. The drone had surfaced and sent out a signal as to its location per normal operations. 

A Chinese ship that had been shadowing the Bowditch then dropped its own small boat in the water and swooped in to grab the drone, the official said.  

The Bowditch crew called over radio to the Chinese ship to ask for the equipment back. The Chinese crew confirmed receipt of the message, but began sailing away, leaving with the drone.

Around noon local time on Friday, the U.S. State Department filed an official demarche with China. The official said the matter is now in the State Department’s hands.

Gardner urged the Obama administration to recall the U.S. ambassador to China until the drone is returned and a formal apology is issued. 

“The United States must send a message to China, unilaterally and through the United Nations, that if its hostile behavior in the South China Sea continues, there will be repercussions,” he said. 

McCain added: “We are not witnessing a China committed to a ‘peaceful rise.’ Instead, we are confronting an assertive China that has demonstrated its willingness to use intimidation and coercion to disrupt the rules-based order that has been the foundation of security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region for seven decades.

“As I have said repeatedly, we must adapt U.S. policy and strategy to reflect this reality and ensure we have the necessary military forces, capabilities, and posture in the region to deter, and if necessary, defeat aggression.”

– Updated at 4:57 p.m.