By Ankit Panda
Satellite imagery analysis confirms that Chinese BZK-005 drones are operating in the East China Sea.
China has stationed at least three BZK-005 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Daishan Island in Hangzhou Bay, an inlet of the East China Sea near Shanghai. The development confirms Chinese drone operations in the East China Sea, where it unilaterally declared an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in November 2014. Satellite imagery analysis by Chris Biggers over at Bellingcat shows the three medium altitude, long range drones sitting at the Daishan airfield, which Biggers describes as “one of the few dedicated facilities for drone operations known in China.” Chinese military UAVs were thought to have been operating in the East China Sea since at least late 2013.
Reports from fall 2013 noted that Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) had scrambled a jet to monitor a “drone of unidentified nationality” flying over the East China Sea. Later, Japan’s defense ministry released imagery all but confirming that the unidentified UAV was likely a Chinese BZK-005. These means that these drones have been operating off Daishan and into the East China Sea for at least two years. Tensions between Japan and China spiked over the East China Sea in late-2013 and early-2014 over the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute. In recent months, the situation in the East China Sea has been calmer and relations have improved between Tokyo and Beijing (meanwhile, the South China Sea continues to heat up).
Read the full story at The Diplomat