Is stealing another country's military equipment an act of war?

Image via Shutterstock, two engineers launch an undersea drone.

Tyler O'Neil reports at PJ Media,

On Thursday, a Chinese ship took an American underwater drone in international waters. The Pentagon made an official declaration about the theft and demanded the drone's immediate return on Friday.

"We call upon China to return our UUV immediately, and to comply with all of its obligations under international law," declared Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in an official statement. UUV stands for "unmanned underwater vehicle."

Cook's statement reported the theft in detail. It alleged that China "unlawfully seized" the vehicle before the USNS Bowditch could retrieve it. The UUV is "an unclassified 'ocean glider' system used around the world to gather military oceanographic data such as salinity, water temperature, and sound speed."

According to the Pentagon, a Chinese ship launched a small boat, which seized the UUV and took it to their ship. "Bowditch made contact with the PRC Navy ship via bridge-to-bridge radio to request the return of the UUV," Cook explained. "The radio contact was acknowledged by the PRC Navy ship, but the request was ignored."

"This is an act of war against the United States," Gordon Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China, told Fox News. He said the theft constituted an act of war because China stole U.S. military property.

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