‘Unpresidented’ Trump tweet on China sets off deluge of mockery

AFP, WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump got plenty of attention—but not the kind he was looking for—after a tweet Saturday calling out China for its seizure of an unmanned US naval probe.
“China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters—rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented (sic) act,” the real estate magnate wrote on his favorite platform.
“Unpresidented” quickly became a top trending topic on Twitter in the United States, as online wags savaged the incoming president for the unfortunate misspelling.
“TrumpSpellCheck—Unpresidentedly effective,” tweeted “Harry Potter” author JK Rowling.
“Dear world, most Americans really wish we could be #unpresidented,” another user wrote.
Even dictionary Merriam-Webster weighed in.
“The #WordOfTheDay is... not ‘unpresidented’. We don’t enter that word. That’s a new one,” it tweeted.
Trump deleted his tweet after about an hour, replacing it with one correctly using the word “unprecedented.”
While many mocked the deeply divisive political novice, famous for his verbal tics and gaffes, supporters jumped to his defense and said critics were piling on about a typo while ignoring the bigger problem.
Hours after his first tweet, Trump returned to his preferred forum of Twitter to write: “We should tell China that we don’t want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it!”
Trump was referring to China’s seizure on Thursday of an unmanned US naval probe in international waters of the South China Sea, a serious provocation amid rising tensions between the two major powers.
Trump has repeatedly infuriated Beijing in recent weeks, questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports.
Both Beijing and Washington confirmed Saturday that the probe would be returned, without providing details of the handover.
But China’s Ministry of Defense also slammed alleged American “hyping” of the incident as “inappropriate and unhelpful.”
On Friday, the Pentagon had called on Beijing to “immediately” return the probe that it had “unlawfully seized.”
The incident comes amid broader tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims by building out tiny reefs and islets into much larger artificial islands. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have competing claims in the waterway that includes some of the world’s most heavily traveled international trade routes.
Meanwhile, China said Saturday it would return a US naval probe seized in international waters, as it slammed the “hyping” of the incident as “inappropriate and unhelpful”. The unmanned underwater vehicle was taken around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines late on Thursday, according to the Pentagon, which called the capture unlawful and demanded its immediate return.
The incident comes amid escalating tensions between China and the United States, with President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly infuriating Beijing by questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening Chinese imports with punitive tariffs.
China’s defence ministry said it would give back the device “in an appropriate manner”, without providing details of the handover.
“The hyping up from the American side is inappropriate and unhelpful to the swift resolution of the problem,” the ministry said.
China said it “strongly opposed” US reconnaissance activities and had asked Washington to stop them.
“The Chinese side will take the necessary steps in response,” the statement added.
The Pentagon said it had registered its objection to the probe’s seizure. “Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States,” spokesman Peter Cook said Saturday. 
There are broader tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims to the region by building out tiny reefs and islets into much larger artificial islands.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China Sea, which is laced with the world’s most heavily travelled international trade routes.
While the US takes no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, it has repeatedly stressed all maritime claims must comply with international law.
Its military has conducted several “freedom of navigation” operations in which ships and planes have passed close to the sites Beijing claims.

Unpresidented Trump tweet on China sets off deluge of mockery

AFP, WASHINGTON: US President-elect Donald Trump got plenty of attentionbut not the kind he was looking forafter a tweet Saturday calling out China for its seizure of an unmanned US naval probe. China steals United States Navy research drone in international watersrips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented (sic) act, the real estate magnate wrote on his favorite platform. Unpresidented quickly became a top trending topic on Twitter in the United States, as online wags savaged the incoming president for the unfortunate misspelling. TrumpSpellCheckUnpresidentedly effective, tweeted Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Dear world, most Americans really wish we could be #unpresidented, another user wrote. Even dictionary Merriam-Webster weighed in. The #WordOfTheDay is... not unpresidented. We dont enter that word. Thats a new one, it tweeted. Trump deleted his tweet after about an hour, replacing it with one correctly using the word unprecedented. While many mocked the deeply divisive political novice, famous for his verbal tics and gaffes, supporters jumped to his defense and said critics were piling on about a typo while ignoring the bigger problem. Hours after his first tweet, Trump returned to his preferred forum of Twitter to write: We should tell China that we dont want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it! Trump was referring to Chinas seizure on Thursday of an unmanned US naval probe in international waters of the South China Sea, a serious provocation amid rising tensions between the two major powers. Trump has repeatedly infuriated Beijing in recent weeks, questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports. Both Beijing and Washington confirmed Saturday that the probe would be returned, without providing details of the handover. But Chinas Ministry of Defense also slammed alleged American hyping of the incident as inappropriate and unhelpful. On Friday, the Pentagon had called on Beijing to immediately return the probe that it had unlawfully seized. The incident comes amid broader tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims by building out tiny reefs and islets into much larger artificial islands. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have competing claims in the waterway that includes some of the worlds most heavily traveled international trade routes. Meanwhile, China said Saturday it would return a US naval probe seized in international waters, as it slammed the hyping of the incident as inappropriate and unhelpful. The unmanned underwater vehicle was taken around 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines late on Thursday, according to the Pentagon, which called the capture unlawful and demanded its immediate return. The incident comes amid escalating tensions between China and the United States, with President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly infuriating Beijing by questioning longstanding US policy on Taiwan, calling Beijing a currency manipulator and threatening Chinese imports with punitive tariffs. Chinas defence ministry said it would give back the device in an appropriate manner, without providing details of the handover. The hyping up from the American side is inappropriate and unhelpful to the swift resolution of the problem, the ministry said. China said it strongly opposed US reconnaissance activities and had asked Washington to stop them. The Chinese side will take the necessary steps in response, the statement added. The Pentagon said it had registered its objection to the probes seizure. Through direct engagement with Chinese authorities, we have secured an understanding that the Chinese will return the UUV to the United States, spokesman Peter Cook said Saturday. There are broader tensions in the South China Sea, where China has moved to fortify its claims to the region by building out tiny reefs and islets into much larger artificial islands. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have competing claims in the South China Sea, which is laced with the worlds most heavily travelled international trade routes. While the US takes no position on sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, it has repeatedly stressed all maritime claims must comply with international law. Its military has conducted several freedom of navigation operations in which ships and planes have passed close to the sites Beijing claims.