Pentagon should reject export licences for Chinese drone maker DJI, US lawmakers say

The US accuses DJI of complicity in reported oppression of China’s Uygur minority and aiding the Chinese military

‘It is time to end Communist China’s weaponisation of American ingenuity,’ congresswoman Elise Stefanik said in a statement

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Chinese drone maker DJI’s shop at Park Lane Shopper’s Boulevard in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang / SCMP

Published: 2:16am, 19 Dec 2023Updated: 3:36am, 19 Dec 2023

A group of 15 Republican lawmakers on Monday asked the Pentagon to block export licences for US components for Chinese-drone manufacturer DJI, citing national security concerns.

The Commerce Department in December 2020 added DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, to the government’s export control list, accusing it of complicity in reported oppression of China’s Uygur minority and aiding the Chinese military.

The lawmakers, in a letter to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, said a recent tear down of a DJI drone found US manufactured components, which suggests government approval of export licences.

The letter said the Defence Department “should not be recommending approval of export control licences for US technology that advances DJI capabilities”.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Photo: AP

“America’s adversaries are using DJI drones that contain American cutting-edge technology to harm US national security interests,” the letter said.