印度禁止軍用無人機製造商使用中國零部件 (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

India bars makers of military drones from using Chinese parts (1/2)

Updated Mon, August 7, 2023 at 10:11 p.m. PDT

By Krishn Kaushik

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India in recent months has barred domestic manufacturers of military drones from using components made in China over concerns about security vulnerabilities, according to four defence and industry officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.

The measure comes amid tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours and as New Delhi pursues a military modernisation that envisages greater use of unmanned quadcopters, long-endurance systems and other autonomous platforms.

But as the nascent Indian industry looks to meet the military's needs, the defence and industry figures said India's security leaders were worried that intelligence-gathering could be compromised by Chinese-made parts in drones' communication functions, cameras, radio transmission and operating software.

Three of these people and some of the six other government and industry figures interviewed by Reuters spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media or because of the topic's sensitivity. India's defence ministry did not respond to Reuters questions.

India's approach, reported by Reuters for the first time, complements phased import restrictions on surveillance drones since 2020 and is being implemented through military tenders, documents show.

At two meetings in February and March to discuss drone tenders, Indian military officials told potential bidders that equipment or subcomponents from "countries sharing land borders with India will not be acceptable for security reasons", according to minutes reviewed by Reuters. The minutes did not identify the military officials.

One tender document said such subsystems had "security loopholes" that compromised critical military data, and called for vendors to disclose components' origin.

A senior defence official told Reuters the reference to neighbouring countries was a euphemism for China, adding that Indian industry had become dependent on the world's second-largest economy despite concern about cyberattacks.

Beijing has denied involvement in cyberattacks. China's commerce ministry, which last week announced export controls on some drones and drone-related equipment, did not respond to questions about India's measures.

The U.S. Congress in 2019 banned the Pentagon from buying or using drones and components made in China.

(to be continued)

Translation

新德里（路透社） - 據四名國防和工業官員以及路透社查閱的文件稱，出於對安全漏洞的擔憂，印度近幾個月禁止國內軍用無人機製造商使用中國製造的零部件。

這項措施是在核武器鄰國之間關係緊張之際出台的，同時新德里也在追求軍事現代化，設想更多地使用無人駕駛四軸飛行器、長時間航行系統和其他自動化平台。

但隨著新興的印度工業尋求滿足軍方的需求，國防和工業界人士表示，印度負責安全的領導人擔心情報收集可能會受到中國製造的無人機通信運作功能、攝像頭、無線電傳輸和操作軟件中的中國部件所不利影響。

其中三人以及接受路透社採訪的其他六名政府和行業人士的發言人要求匿名，因為他們無權與媒體交談或由於話題的敏感性。 印度國防部沒有回應路透社的問題。

首次由路透社報導的是, 有文件顯示印度做法是對自 2020 年以來, 對無人偵察機補充分階段的進口限制，並正在通過軍事招標的方式實施。

據路透社查閱的會議記錄，在2 月和3 月舉行的兩次討論無人機招標的會議上，印度軍方官員告訴潛在投標者，出於安全原因，來自“與印度有陸地邊界相連的國家”的設備或子部件將不被接受。 會議紀要沒有透露軍方官員的身份。

一份招標文件稱，此類子系統存在“安全漏洞”，會危及關鍵軍事數據，並要求供應商披露組件的來源。

一名高級國防官員告訴路透社，用鄰國代稱是對中國的委婉說法，並補充說，儘管擔心網絡攻擊，但印度工業已變得依賴於世界第二大經濟體。

北京否認參與網絡攻擊。 中國商務部上周宣布對部分無人機和無人機相關設備實施出口管制，但沒有回應有關印度措施的問題。

2019年，美國國會禁止五角大樓購買或使用中國製造的無人機及零部件。

（待續）