China recently intercepted a submarine detector dropped by the United States in the South China Sea, Yuyuan Tantian reported on Wednesday.

A 40-second video posted on Wednesday by Yuyuan Tantian, an arm of China Media Group, showed a U.S. Navy aircraft repeatedly dropping "unidentified electronic items" as it hovered over the South China Sea. 

China's coastguard salvaged one of the items in waters adjacent to Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea and identified it as a submarine detector, according to Yuyuan Tantian.

"The device can be used to detect the signal of a Chinese submarine and to counter signals from submarines underwater," marine expert Yang Xiao was quoted by Yuyuan Tantian as saying. 

Noise from the device's sonar can also interfere with the echolocation systems of marine creatures like dolphins, disorienting them and even stranding them.