China, giving it back

The Washington Post has an article by Missy Ryan about the sub drone the Chinese took:

The Chinese government will return an American naval drone it seized this week in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said recently.
The so-called ocean glider (photo), a small unmanned vessel piloted from the oceanographic research vessel USNS Bowditch, was taken aboard a Chinese naval ship on 15 December 2016, about fifty nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines.
“We have registered our objection to China’s unlawful seizure of an unmanned underwater vehicle operating in international waters in the South China Sea,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
“Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,” he said.
The incident threatened to intensify tensions over Chinese territorial claims throughout the South China Sea and its activities to build up artificial islands there.
Just this week, a US think thank issued a report alleging that China has installed military equipment on artificial islands, potentially adding more fuel to the controversy over Chinese activities in disputed areas.
On Saturday, a day after news of the seizure broke, the Chinese Defense Ministry issued a statement saying the marine device had been taken in the interest of “safe navigation” in the area, according to a report from The Associated Press.
A ministry spokesman said the drone would be returned “through appropriate means,” The Associated Press reported.
Pentagon officials said it was not clear when or how the drone, which the military says it uses to assess water conditions to help naval operations, would be handed over.
“It’s somewhat reassuring that senior leadership in Beijing agreed that this was something that should be returned, regardless of the individual actions of their people at sea,” said a defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an evolving situation.

Rico says this seems to have ended well......