Beijing bans drones in the capital, citing security

Beijing will ban the possession of drones within city limits under new rules from November, further tightening regulations that already prohibited the sale of the devices.

The rules, announced on Sunday and due to take effect on November 15, forbid possessing or storing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Chinese capital and ban flights in its airspace.

Transporting drones or their components into Beijing will also be forbidden.

Authorities will offer subsidies for owners to scrap their gadgets and is even offering to buy back drones from owners who have registered their devices.

Alternatively, owners will be offered free shipping to mail them out of the city.

Airspace safety fears in the city of 22 million were raised in June when a small plane crashed into its tallest skyscraper, killing the pilot and injuring 13 others.

The regulations, formulated by Beijing's municipal government, cited the need to "safeguard the security of the capital".

Under rules introduced in May, Beijing already prohibited drone sales, while owners had to register their devices but were allowed to keep them.

The new regulations mandate that all drone owners dispose of their devices or move them out of Beijing by November 15, or else face confiscation and fines.

"The outright ban is really an indication of how politically sensitive Beijing is and how important it is politically to the Communist Party," said Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University.

"The Communist Party is trying to achieve absolute security and a complete ban on drones in the capital is one way to approach that."

He added that the ban on drones was not just about "terroristic threats" but also potentially about counter-intelligence, since drones are also used for surveillance.

Drone flights in Beijing's airspace already require permission from authorities.

According to the new rules, exemptions may be provided for special purposes like counter-terrorism, agriculture, disaster relief, and research.