China to use drones over disputed islands

Beijing will use unmanned drones to conduct marine surveillance over uninhabited East China Sea islands at the center of a dispute with Japan.

The decision follows a successful pilot program conducted on Sunday, Li Mousheng, a spokesman for the State Oceanic Administration, said.

China plans to have drones and monitoring bases in place by 2015.

The islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are controlled by Tokyo, but also claimed by China and Taiwan.