The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has expressed desire to work with civil aviation and public security authorities to improve the management of drones flying at low attitude, a PLA Air Force spokesperson said on Wednesday, Nov. 18, after a drone was caught flying without permission in North China's Hebei Province.
Shen Jinke, spokesperson for the PLA Air Force, said that during a helicopter training session on Tuesday, Nov. 17, the local air force in Zhuozhou, Hebei, had spotted a drone flying in low-altitude and forced it to land.
According to a statement published on the air force's official Weibo account, the drone belongs to a Beijing company that owns several other drones. The personnel and the drone were brought to local police for investigation, the statement added.
Shen stressed that airspace security is significant to national and public security as well as to public well-being. The official added the right of flight in accordance with the law must also conform with obligations to maintain flight safety.
In May, a Xinjiang-based company was charged 20,000 yuan ($3,134) when it used a drone to conduct a geological survey without permission, the Nanfang Daily said in an October report.
According to news outlet cnr.cn, there are over 20,000 civilian drones in China and most of them are operating illegally.
During a forum at an expo in Beijing in September, several Chinese and foreign experts called for the urgent enactment of specific regulations that will govern the drone industry to avoid social problems caused by unlicensed or unauthorized flights, including terror attacks.