The oceanographic survey ship, USNS Bowditch, is shown September 20, 2002, which deployed an underwater drone seized by a Chinese Navy warship in international waters in South China Sea, December 16, 2016. Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday it had been in touch with the United States about returning an underwater drone taken by a Chinese naval vessel in the South China Sea, but the U.S.’s “hyping up” of the issue was not conducive to a resolution.