Sources said that possibility of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) being shot down or there being an “electronic take over” of it cannot be ruled out.
India’s move infringed upon China’s territorial sovereignty: Chinese official to media.
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday confirmed that one of its Israeli made Heron drones had crossed the Line of Actual in the Sikkim sector and crashed in Chinese territory ahead of North Sikkim following a “technical problem”. Over a hotline, India has requested China to return it. The exact cause of the incident is under investigation, said the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Sources added that possibility of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) being shot down or there being an “electronic take over” of it cannot be ruled out. However, such a thing would be difficult, because of its tough electronic countermeasures.
The development was shared by MoD in response to an article published by China’s Xinhua News Agency earlier on Thursday. The article quotes the Chinese military stating that the Indian UAV intruded into China’s airspace and crashed recently.
“India’s move has infringed upon China’s territorial sovereignty, and we are strongly dissatisfied with and opposed to it,” said Zhang Shuili, deputy head of the combat bureau of the Western Theater Command's joint staff department, according to the article. The MOD said the Indian UAV was on a regular training mission inside Indian territory and had ‘lost contact’ with the ground control due to a technical problem. It crossed over the LAC in the Sikkim sector.
Sources explained that in high altitude areas sometimes there is a “break in the communication link”, which could be a reason to the UAV losing contact.
“As per standard protocol, the Indian border security personnel immediately alerted their Chinese counterparts to locate the UAV. In response, the Chinese side reverted with the location details of the UAV,” said Col Aman Anand, PRO (Army). Sources explained that the UAV crashed “ahead of North Sikkim in Chinese territory”. But officials are tight-lipped about when the incident took place.
The Indian Army which was operating the UAV had contacted their Chinese counterparts over a hotline from Nathula in Sikkim. “A request was made to return the drone.
Communication between the two sides through diplomatic channels is taking place over the issue and to set the modalities for it,” said sources.
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