Beijing carried out its first ever live-fire drills in the South China Sea this week

The move by Trump is said to have seriously angered Chinese officials

A Chinese warship has captured an underwater US Navy drone right in front of the eyes of the crew of an American ship in the South China sea, prompting a government official to say, 'they stole it'.

The incident has triggered a formal demarche from the United States and a demand for its return, a US defense official told Reuters on Friday.

The capture - the first of its kind in recent memory - took place on December 15 northwest of Subic Bay just as the USNS Bowditch, an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned, underwater vehicle.

A US Navy drone has been captured by a Chinese warship, which snatched it right in front of the American vessel. Pictured is a Slocum ocean glider

When the Bowditch stopped to collect the underwater equipment, a Chinese warship that had been following it dropped a boat into the water the pulled up alongside the US vessel and snatched the drone, according to CNN.

The USS Bowditch had been sampling and data collection of surface, midwater and ocean floor measurements, and US officials received no reply from the Chinese when they radioed to state the drone was American.

The US crew had hoped to start communications with the Chinese vessel to get the drone back, but the ship eventually responded to say it was returning to normal operations and left the area, according to NBC News.

The Department of Defense released a statement, saying it was: 'not the sort of conduct we expecti from professional navies.'

A Chinese Navy warship has seized an underwater drone deployed by an American oceanographic vessel in international waters in the South China Sea. Pictured is a Chinese ship in the Bohai Sea

The incident took place on December 15 northwest of Subic Bay just as the USNS Bowditch (pictured), an oceanographic survey ship, was about to retrieve the unmanned vehicle

The incident comes after president-elect Donald Trump thrust US relations with China into chaos with a series of controversial comments after his election win.

THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE'S RESPONSE A Chinese navy ship seized an 'ocean glider' unmanned underwater vehicle yesterday as the U.S. Navy oceanographic research ship USNS Bowditch was attempting to recover it. The Chinese navy ship ASR-510, a Dalang III-class ship, approached within 500 yards f the Bowditch, launched a small boat and seized the UUV. The incident occurred in international waters about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, Philippines. Bowditch made contact over bridge-to-bridge radio and demanded it back. Those demands were ignored. We have since worked through diplomatic channels to demarche China on this. This is not the sort of conduct we expect from professional navies. Advertisement

Trump was attacked by Chinese newspapers this month, just days after he created potential diplomatic controversy by calling Taiwan and criticizing China's government.

Trump's protocol-shattering call with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and a subsequent Twitter tirade against Beijing's policies could upend the delicate balance between the world's two largest economies, the country's media outlets said.

'Provoking friction and messing up China-US relations won't help "make America great again",' a front-page opinion piece in China's People's Daily said. The newspaper is a mouthpiece for the country's Communist Party.

The nationalist Global Times newspaper's Chinese edition also ran a page-one story on Trump's 'inability to keep his mouth shut', damning his 'provocation and falsehoods'.

Trump fired off two tweets on Sunday blasting China for devaluing its currency, taxing American imports, and building military installations in the South China Sea.

The incident comes after China was angered by Donald Trump's phone call on December 2 with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured right)

Beijing has staged its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighter jets amid tensions over a military base on artificial islands in the South China Sea

Up to 10 vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in combat training and fired guided missiles in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea

A Chinese aircraft carrier is seen in the South China Sea during the first-ever live firing tests

The comments followed criticism of Trump in the US and Chinese media for taking a congratulatory phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that flew in the face of nearly 40 years of diplomatic protocol and raised questions about whether the president-elect intends to pursue a hard line against Beijing.

The capture of the Navy vessel comes just days after China staged its first ever live-fire drills using an aircraft carrier and fighter jets amid tensions over a military base on artificial islands in the South China Sea.

Up to 10 vessels and 10 aircraft engaged in combat training and fired guided missiles in the northeastern Bohai Sea close to Korea.

China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fuelled concern, with the US criticising its militarisation of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation.

China's growing military presence in the disputed South China Sea has fueled concern, with the US criticizing its militarization of maritime outposts and holding regular air and naval patrols to ensure freedom of navigation

China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated

No other country has claims in China's busy waterway of the Bohai Sea, but the drills come amid new tension over self-ruled Taiwan.

Warships and jets engaged in air-to-air, air-to-sea and sea-to-air combat drills that featured guided missiles, state broadcaster Chinese Central Television reported late on Thursday.

'This is the first time an aircraft carrier squadron has performed drills with live ammunition and real troops,' it said.

China's Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier and a formation of warships carried out aerial interception, anti-aircraft and anti-missile drills, in which Shenyang J-15 fighter jets carrying live missiles also participated, CCTV said.

It broadcast images of fighter jets taking off from the carrier, firing missiles and destroying a target at sea.