In a strategic move, China is ready to offer its neighbouring nations use of its indigenously developed Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) free of charge. The offer has generated interest from a number of nations including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Thailand.
As per the Chinese government, the
country wants to expand the use of the BDS, which already has 16
satellites operating for the Asia-Pacific and is being promoted as an
alternative to the US’ Global Positioning System (GPS).
China intends to offer BDS to nations in the Asia-Pacific region, and
particularly in South and Southeast Asia, where the satellites can
provide the highest accuracy.
Countries interested in Beidou Navigation System:
China has already reached agreement with
Pakistan and Thailand on use of the Beidou network. It is in talks with
Sri Lanka, for which it has already launched a satellite, and
Bangladesh, over cooperation on satellite use. In early2014, Thailand
will become the first country to set up a satellite station based on
Beidou, with both nations signing a $ 319 million deal.
What is Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS)?
Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations:
Beidou-1: A limited test system that has been operating since 2000
Beidou-2 : A full-scale global navigation system which is also known as COMPASS and is currently under construction as of January 2013 . Beidou-2 will have 35 satellites in its network.
Objective of Beidou Satellite Navigation System (BDS):
Initially, when the BDS was launched in
2011, it was serving only the government and military. However, over the
past year the navigation system is being widely used for civilian
purposes domestically. In China, around 80% of passenger buses and
trucks use the BDS. Now China intends to expand its satellite
navigation services to Asia-Pacific and to South and South-East Asia
regions.
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