According to the state news agency of China, the deputy head of the combat bureau of the Western Theater Command’s joint staff department said that the Indian drone trespassed into Chinese airspace and crashed. He did not give the location of the crash site.
The Chinese military, Thursday, strongly condemned and opposed the trespassing of an Indian Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) into Chinese airspace. India, on the same day, claimed that the UAV «lost control» and entered into Chinese territory through the Sikkim (a state in India) border.
According to a report by the Hindustan Times, an Indian news website, India replied to the incident, Thursday, claiming that the UAV was on a «regular training mission,» lost control and crossed the border area from Sikkim.
A statement by the Indian Defense Ministry said: «An Indian UAV which was on a regular training mission inside the Indian territory lost contact with the ground control due to some technical problem and crossed over the LAC [Line of Actual Control] in the Sikkim Sector. As per standard protocol, the Indian border security personnel immediately alerted their Chinese counterparts to locate the UAV.»
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, the official press of the People’s Republic of China, deputy head of the combat bureau of the Western Theater Command’s joint staff department, Zhang Shuili stated that the Indian UAV trespassed into Chinese airspace and crashed. He also said that the border troops of China administered identification and verification of the UAV.
The report, however, didn’t reveal the exact location of the crash.
Shuili reportedly said, «India’s move has infringed upon China’s territorial sovereignty, and we are strongly dissatisfied with and opposed to this.
