Chinese Province Starts Drone Patrol of Waters Near N.Korea

Marine authorities in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning near the North Korea-China border are using an unmanned aerial vehicle to watch illegal activities in waters off North Korea. Since not many countries use UAVs for coastal patrols, there is speculation that China wants to monitor North Korean defectors who escape by sea. Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post on Wednesday reported Liaoning marine authorities “began drone patrols for the first time over water and islands close to North Korea last week.” Liaoning is the first province to use a drone for coastal patrols. So far the patrols have only been test runs, but an annual budget of 10 million yuan is available from next year to make them a permanent fixture, the Liaoning provincial government said. The provincial government set up a UAV deployment and control centre in the coastal city of Dalian. Liaoning said use of the UAV aims to prevent illegal activity at sea and collect information necessary for the protection of the coast. It said it needs the drone because the coast is 2,200 km long and covers 150,000 sq. km of waters and 506 islands. But the paper said, “Chinese officials are keen to upgrade […]
Chinese Province Starts Drone Patrol of Waters Near N.Korea