US drone use in South China Sea increases risk of ‘friction and misjudgment’, says Chinese analyst
- Hu Bo, director of a Beijing-based think tank, warns that drones being operated from the other side of the world increase the risk of pilot error
- Annual report into US military activity in the disputed waters also says the US has upgraded the drone fleet used to monitor the area
But Hu Bo, the director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI), warned in a panel discussion about the report that the increased use of drones increased the risk of “friction and misjudgment”.
“Since October last year, the MQ-4C has completely replaced the MP-3E … so the generation upgrade was completed, at least in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait region”, Hu said as he presented the think tank’s annual report on US military activities in the disputed waters.
The report said the model “has become the major force for US close-range reconnaissance on China after the second operational deployment of MQ-4C Triton in Guam last September”.
MQ-4C Triton, made by Virginia-based Northrop Grumman, is a high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.
Hu said the more frequent use of unmanned systems means China’s “counter-reconnaissance” missions now take place around the clock, as the drones are usually controlled by US-based personnel and take place during US daytime – which is the middle of the night in China.