China blocks US submarine probe in South China Sea

China intercepted a submarine probe recently dropped by a US military aircraft in the South China Sea, Yuyuan Tantian, a social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, reported on Wednesday.

Yuyuan Tantian reported that US military aircraft were found hovering over the South China Sea and repeatedly shooting down “unknown objects.”

A video released on the account showed the Chinese coast guard salvaging and investigating an object. It said the interception had happened recently.

“This probe can be used to detect signals from Chinese submarines and to counter signals coming from underwater submarines,” an expert was quoted as saying in the video.