Trump and China in tit-for-tat exchange over seized US drone
Donald Trump ruffled Chinese feathers with his comments on Twitter about the seizure of a US drone in the South China Sea. He called the act "unprecedented", adding that the Chinese authorities could keep the unmanned vehicle, which was "collecting unclassified scientific data", according to the Pentagon. China's Defence Ministry issued a statement saying the "US side's unilateral and open hyping up is inappropriate and is not beneficial to the smooth resolution of this issue." China say they will return the drone, however, it is possible that it might keep its data or place more demands on the US as a consequence.

But Pentagon said the $150,000 glider is 'clearly marked' as belonging to the US

China claims it did not know the drone belonged to the US when it removed it

Donald Trump has said America should let China keep the stolen US Navy drone just hours after he called the country's actions 'unpresidented' in a misspelled tweet.

On Saturday evening the president-elect tweeted that America should let China keep the drone that was seized two days ago in the South China Sea.

'We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!' he tweeted.

His tweet came after the US military announced it had reached an understanding with China for the return of the underwater glider after Beijing complained that Washington had been 'hyping up' the incident.

On Saturday morning, Trump took to Twitter to blast China for, as he described it, ripping the research drone, known as an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), out of the water.

According to the Pentagon, the drone was seized Thursday while collecting unclassified scientific data in the South China Sea, which China claims virtually in its entirety.

Donald Trump has said America should let China keep the stolen US Navy drone just hours after he took to Twitter to blast China for, as he described it, ripping the research drone out of the water

Trump fired off his criticism nearly two days after the Chinese Navy seized an unmanned underwater glider in the South China Sea on December 15

'China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented (sic) act,' Trump wrote in a misspelled tweet on Saturday morning.

Trump deleted his original tweet, posted at 4.30am, after he was ridiculed online and later issued the same message with the correct spelling.

The billionaire, who has vowed to take an aggressive approach in dealing with China over its economic and military policies, jumped on the unusual drone seizure with a pair of provocative tweets, accusing Beijing of stealing the equipment.

The Pentagon went public with its complaint after the action and said on Saturday it had secured a deal to get the drone back.

'Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,' Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement.

Trump accused China of stealing the drone after a Chinese official said the country was in talks with the US military for a 'smooth resolution'. Trump deleted his tweet (pictured) after he was ridiculed online and later issued the same message with the correct spelling

Trump's comments come just weeks after he potentially thrust US relations with China into chaos after receiving a call from Taiwan's president

His inflammatory message came after a Chinese official said the country was in talks with the American military for a 'smooth resolution' over the drone, earlier on Saturday.

A short time later, China's Defense Ministry hit back with a biting response as it revealed the drone would be returned.

'China decided to return it to the US side in an appropriate manner, and China and the US have all along been in communication about it,' the statement read.

'During this process, the US side's unilateral and open hyping up is inappropriate and is not beneficial to the smooth resolution of this issue,' it added.

'We express regret at this.'

The capture - the first of its kind in recent memory - occurred just as the USNS Bowditch, an American oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned underwater glider.

When the Bowditch stopped to collect the underwater equipment, a Chinese warship that had been following it dropped a boat into the water, pulled up alongside the US vessel and snatched the drone, according to CNN.

The USS Bowditch had been sampling and data collection of surface, midwater and ocean floor measurements, and US officials received no reply from the Chinese when they radioed to state the drone was American.

The US crew had hoped to start communications with the Chinese vessel to get the drone back, but the ship eventually responded to say it was returning to normal operations and left the area, according to NBC News.

The Department of Defense released a statement, saying it was: 'not the sort of conduct we expect from professional navies'.

US officials issued a formal diplomatic complaint over the seizure and demanded the return of the $150,000 drone, which was collecting unclassified scientific data.

'It is ours. It's clearly marked as ours,' Navy Capt Jeff Davis said on Friday.

'We would like it back, and we would like this not to happen again.'

Meanwhile, China's Defense Ministry claimed that a Chinese navy lifeboat had discovered what first appeared to be a peace of 'unidentified equipment'.

A Chinese Navy warship seized the underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea. Pictured is a Chinese ship in the Bohai Sea

The incident took place on December 15 northwest of Subic Bay just as the USNS Bowditch (pictured), an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned vehicle

China's Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the vessel removed the item 'in order to prevent this device from posing a danger to the navigation of passing ships and personnel'.

'The Chinese lifeboat adopted a professional and responsible attitude in investigating and verifying the device,' he added.

It was only then, Yajun claimed, that the Chinese navy realized it was a US drone.

The statement also accused the US of deploying ships to conduct 'renaissance and military surveying' in China's presence.

'China is resolutely opposed to this and requests the US stop such activities,' Yajun said.

The US has maintained that the drone was operating lawfully while conducting a 'military survey' in the South China Sea.

'It's a sovereign immune vessel,' a US official said of the drone, adding that it was 'clearly marked in English not to be removed from the water - that it was US property'.

Arizona Sen John McCain, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the seizure a 'flagrant violation of the freedom of the seas'.

'China had no right to seize this vehicle. And the United States must not stand for such outrageous conduct,' he wrote in a statement released on Saturday.

'This brazen provocation fits a pattern of increasingly destabilizing Chinese behavior, including bullying its neighbors and militarizing the South China Sea.'

'Freedom of the seas and the principles of the rules-based order are not self-enforcing. American leadership is required in their defense. But that leadership has been sorely lacking,' he added, hitting out at Obama.

Before the defense ministry issued its statement, China said on Saturday that it was in contact with its American counterparts on 'appropriately handling' the seizure, one of the most serious incidents between the two militaries in years.

'According to (our) understanding, the US and Chinese sides are working on appropriately handling this matter through channels between the two militaries,' the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The drone conflict now seems to be resolved, but critics are still poking fun at Trump's most recent spelling mistake.

Even Merriam-Webster, a publishing company known for its dictionaries, joined in by linking a definition to the word 'Huh'.

'Good morning! The #WordOfTheDay is...not 'unpresidented'. We don't enter that word. That's a new one,' the tweet read.

Trump deleted the original tweet and rewrote it with the correct spelling of 'unprecedented', but the ridicule continued.

Trump deleted the original tweet and rewrote it with the correct spelling of 'unprecedented'

Critics took an easy shot at the president-elect's spelling mistake, and the Merriam-Webster Twitter account joined in with the mockery

SPELLING ERRORS IN TRUMP'S TWEETS December 15, 2016: 'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House waite so long to act?' December 10, 2016: 'Reports by @CNN that I will be working on The Apprentice during my Presidency, even part time, are rediculous & untrue – FAKE NEWS!' July 29, 2016: 'Hillary Clinton should not be given national security briefings in that she is a lose cannon with extraordinarily bad judgement & insticts.' July 24, 2016: 'Looks to me like the Bernie people will fight. If not, there blood, sweat, and tears was a total waist of time. Kaine stands for opposite!' March 18, 2016: 'Heading to Phoneix. Will be arriving soon. Tomorrow a big day. Tremendous crowds expected!' March 6, 2016: 'All of the phony T.V. commercials against me are bought and payed for by SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, the bandits that tell your pols what to do' February 26, 2016: 'Lying Ted Cruz and leightweight chocker Marco Rubio teamed up last night in a last ditch effort to stop our great movement. They failed!' February 26, 2016: 'Leightweight chocker Marco Rubio looks like a little boy on stage. Not presidential material.' February 26, 2016: 'Wow, every poll said I won the debate last night. Great honer!' January 31, 2016: 'Ted Cruz is totally unelectable, if he even gets to run (born in Canada). Will loose big to Hillary. Polls show I beat Hillary easily! WIN!' January 19, 2016: 'Wow, the highly respected Governor of Iowa just stated that 'Ted Cruz must be defeated.' Big shoker! People do not like Ted.' June 25, 2015: 'I hear that dopey political pundit Lawrence O'Donnel, one of the dummer people on television, is about to lose his show- no ratings? Too bad' Advertisement !- - ad: https://mads.dailymail.co.uk/v8/ru/news/none/article/other/mpu_factbox.html?id=mpu_factbox_1 - ->

The president-elect's inflammatory tweet comes just weeks after he potentially thrust US relations with China in chaos after receiving a call from Taiwan's president and criticizing China's government.

Chinese admiral Yang Yi said he was unsure of the reasoning behind seizing the drone, but said Trump's recent comments had hurt the relationship between the two nations.

'It's natural for us to take possession of and research for a bit these types of things that America sends to our doorstep,' Yang told the Global Times.

'The louder they shout, the more their protests ring hollow.'

China's media outlets have speculated whether Trump's protocol-shattering call with Tsai Ing-wen and his subsequent Twitter tirade against Beijing's policies could upend the delicate balance between the world's two largest economies.

'Provoking friction and messing up China-US relations won't help 'make America great again',' a front-page opinion piece in China's People's Daily said.

The nationalist Global Times newspaper's Chinese edition also ran a page-one story on Trump's 'inability to keep his mouth shut', damning his 'provocation and falsehoods'.

Trump fired off two tweets on Sunday blasting China for devaluing its currency, taxing American imports, and building military installations in the South China Sea.