U.S. acknowledges drone return, calls on China to obey international law

The oceanographic survey ship, USNS Bowditch, is shown September 20, 2002, which deployed an underwater drone seized by a Chinese Navy warship in international waters in South China Sea, December 16, 2016. Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday it had received an underwater drone "unlawfully seized" by a Chinese vessel last week and called on China to refrain from further efforts to impede its lawful activities in the South China Sea. China had earlier announced it had returned the drone after "friendly" talks between the two countries. The USS Mustin received the vehicle for the United States in international waters approximately 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines, near where it was taken, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement. (Reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney; Editing by Paul Tait)