Updated

Authorities say nine armored personnel carriers belonging to Singapore that were seized in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong in November will be returned.

The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong received a letter from Hong Kong's chief executive saying that Hong Kong had completed an investigation of the SAF Terrex infantry carrier vehicles and would release them to the Singapore government.

Customs authorities in Hong Kong seized the eight-wheeled Terrex infantry carriers in November. The vehicles were being shipped back to Singapore following military training exercises in Taiwan.

Experts said the seizure and delay could signal China's unhappiness with Singapore's positions on Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea and on Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of China.