LIANYUNGANG - China will promote the use of drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to strengthen the nation's marine surveillance, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said on Sunday.

A unmanned surveillance helicopter flies in the sky during a demonstration flight in Lianyungang, a coastal city in East China's Jiangsu province on Sept 23, 2012.[Photo/Xinhua]

The SOA verified and accepted a pilot program of using drones to undertake remote-sensing marine surveillance in Lianyungang, a coastal city in eastern Jiangsu province on Sunday.

With the experience learned from the pilot program, the SOA would try to form a managerial system and technical regulations in a bid to set up UAV surveillance and monitoring bases in provinces along China's coastline by 2015, Yu Qingsong, a division chief of the administration said.

In addition, the SOA would step up efforts to enhance its surveillance of the islands and islets including the Diaoyu Islands and Huangyan Island.

According to the SOA, the use of pilotless aircraft in remote-sensing marine surveillance is relatively flexible, low-cost and efficient, compared with the performance of satellite remote sensing,aerial remote sensing and field monitoring.

A man uses a remote control to manipulate a drone during a demonstration flight in Lianyungang, a coastal city in East China's Jiangsu province on Sept 23, 2012.[Photo/Xinhua]