The escalating, so far mostly verbal conflict with China may have just heated up following a Reuters reports that China has seized an unmanned, underwater US navy vehicle inside off international waters in the South China Sea, and that the US has issued a formal statement demanding the return of the vehicle.

• CHINA’S NAVY HAS SEIZED AN UNMANNNED, UNDERWATER U.S. NAVY VEHICLE COLLECTING SCIENTIFIC DATA IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS OF SOUTH CHINA SEA
• UNITED STATES HAS ISSUED A FORMAL DEMARCHE TO CHINA, DEMANDING THE RETURN OF UNDERWATER VEHICLE -U.S. OFFICIAL TELLS REUTERS

This “seizure” takes place one day after China’s influential state-run tabloid, the Global Times, called for a plan to take Taiwan by force and make swift preparations for a military incursion. The article urged China to rebalance its stance towards Taiwan to “make the use of force as a main option” and carefully prepare for possible moves toward independence.

It also follows a series of warnings to the Trump administration by Chinese diplomats, in which they cautioned that China will not allow the “One China” policy to be used as a bargaining chip, something Trump hinted he was willing to do in a Fox News interview last Sunday.

Developing story.