China slams claim by 'diplomatically inept' Trump that it stole U.S. drone, to give it back Tuesday

BEIJING/WASHINGTON – China on Monday rejected U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's claim that it had "stolen" an American research drone, as state media said his diplomatic inexperience could spark a confrontation between the two nations. Beijing's seizure of the marine probe in international waters in the South China Sea raised already heightened tensions between the world's two largest military powers. On Sunday, after Beijing and Washington announced the drone would be returned, Trump tweeted: "We should tell China that we don't want the drone they stole back. Trump's accusation that China had stolen the drone was "not accurate," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. "Imagine that you found something on the street -- you would need to first check and verify it before handing it back to someone else," she told a regular press conference. Hua said the two sides "are in smooth communication through military channels, and we believe the incident will be properly handled." She gave no further details. The Chinese military is expected to return the probe to the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. defense official said. "A U.S. destroyer will be there," the official told AFP on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon said last week a Chinese naval vessel had "unlawfully" grabbed the unmanned underwater vehicle around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines. China said the drone had been snatched since it might pose a safety hazard to other vessels. It also said it "strongly opposed" U.S. reconnaissance activities and had asked Washington to stop them. The U.S. said the device was collecting information on water temperatures, salinity and sea clarity. In an earlier misspelled tweet Saturday, Trump also accused Beijing of theft. "China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters?rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act," he wrote. The state-owned China Daily rejected the claim in an editorial. "What is truly amazing about this tweet, was the soon-to-be U.S. president completely misrepresented what had actually happened -- that is more dangerous than funny," it said. Trump's behavior "could easily drive China-U.S. relations into what Obama portrays as'full-conflict mode,'" it added, next to a cartoon that depicted Trump riding a bull into a china shop while U.S. businessmen looked on aghast. A separate article quoted experts as calling Trump's behavior "diplomatically inept.