Indian UAV Crashes in Chinese Territory, New Delhi Clarifies

An Indian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) intruded into China’s airspace and crashed evoking strong reaction from the Chinese MoD, state-run Chinese media outlets reported.

The Indian UAV intruded into China's airspace and crashed recently, and China's border troops have conducted identification and verification over the vehicle, Xinhua reported quoting Zhang Shuili, deputy head of the combat bureau of the Western Theater Command's joint staff department Thursday.

"India's move has infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty, and we are strongly dissatisfied with and opposed to this," Zhang said.

Meanwhile the Indian ministry of defense clarified, "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 in the Sikkim Sector. 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. The exact cause of the incident is under investigation. The matter is being dealt with in accordance with the established protocols through institutional mechanisms to deal with situations along the India- China border areas,” the statement said.