China seized a submarine probe dropped by an American military aircraft in the South China Sea, according to a social media site linked with state media.
The US aircraft were recently spotted flying over the disputed waters and dropped “unidentified items” into the sea, Yuyuan Tantian said.
China’s coastguard retrieved and inspected an object, footage on the account apparently showed.
It was accompanied by a statement explaining its significance.
“The probe can be used to detect Chinese submarine signals and to counter signals from submarines underwater,” text on the video said, quoting an expert.
China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also pressed their separate claims.
The three-million-square-kilometres waterway is vital to international trade, with an estimated third of global shipping worth trillions of dollars passing through …