VOA - China a Growing Supplier of Drones

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report in Special English. 

China recently said it considered launching a drone strike against a Burmese drug trafficker. Naw Kham was wanted in the killings of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River in 2011. China's top drug official said the plan was to bomb the drug dealer's mountain hiding place in northeastern Burma using unmanned aircraft. 

The official said the drone strike idea was passed over in order to capture Naw Kham alive. 

He was seized last April in a joint operation with Laos. That China considered using a drone strike is a sign of its increasing development of unmanned flight technology. It also suggests that China is seriously considering using drone attacks outside of its borders. 

Peter Dutton is with the United States Naval War College. He says China is moving away from its earlier policy of non-interference in international affairs. He says the country is becoming more active in protecting its interests beyond its borders. The United States has led the world in drone technology for years. It is known to use UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle, strikes against foreign targets. 

In recent years, China has greatly improved its UAV technology. It showed off many of its new models at recent air shows in the country. One of the drones has a range of over 3,200 kilometers. 

China is also modernizing its global navigation system to compete with those of the United States, Russia and Europe. The United States exports unmanned aircraft to only a few of its closest allies. China is now seen as an increasingly reliable, lower cost supplier. Several countries have bought or built their own UAVs, mostly for surveillance purposes. 

For VOA Learning English, I'm Laurel Bowman. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 25Feb2013)

drone strike : 무인정찰기

drone : 웅웅거리는 소리,  (일부 악기가 배경음으로 내는) 저음; 저음부, 무인 항공기

Burmese : 버마(미안마)의

trafficker : 불법 거래 상인

was wanted : 수배중이다

in the killings : 살인건으로

unmanned : 무인의

seized : (Vn) 와락[꽉] 붙잡다[움켜잡다], (흔히 폭력을 써서) 장악하다, 점령하다

border : 국경지역

       out of borders : 국경 외부에

       within borders : 국내 내부에

interference : 간섭

show (somebody/something) off : (누구를/무엇을) 과시하다. 자랑하다

compete with : ~과 겨루다

closest allies : 가까운 연합국들

see as : 간주되다

reliable : a:신뢰할 수 있는

increasingly : ab : 점점 더, 갈수록 더

surveillance : n감시