As the USNS Bowditch was recovering a UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle, or underwater drone) in the South China Sea on 15th December, a light-fingered Chinese Navy salvage ship reportedly called Naniju swooped in and took it in spite of repeated bridge-to-bridge demands to return the craft.
South China Sea
Chinese warship seizes US underwater drone in international waters
The recent blogpost by BASIC’s Project Leader, Sebastian Brixey-Williams was referenced in The Guardian in an article which explored the impetus for China’s seizure of a US underwater drone.