China’s leading drone-making company sued the US Defense Department for blacklisting the firm.
According to South China Morning Post, the drone giant in a lawsuit challenged the “erroneous designation of the company” as a “Chinese Military Company” and sought its removal from the blacklist which has caused it significant harm.
The firm said, “(DJI) determined it had no alternative other than to seek relief in federal court. DJI is not owned or controlled by the Chinese military, and the DOD (Department of Defence) itself acknowledges that DJI makes consumer and commercial drones, not military drones.”
The firm revealed that it had been in discussion with the Pentagon for more than 16 months, but it realized that it had “no alternative other than to seek relief in federal court.”
The company stated in a lawsuit that as a result of an “unlawful and misguided decision”, it has “lost business deals, been stigmatized as a national security threat and banned from contracting with multiple federal government agencies,” adding “US and international customers have terminated existing contracts with DJI and refuse to enter into new ones.”
Moreover, the drone supplier said it has always been dedicated to promoting the application of civilian drone products and opposes the use of its products for military purposes, insisting that it “is neither controlled nor owned by the Chinese military.”
The Pentagon blacklisted DJI along with other major Chinese companies for allegedly helping China’s military-civil fusion strategy that supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury blacklisted the company for supporting China in the surveillance of Xinjiang.
To note, the US House of Representatives has also voted to block new drones from DJI. The bill is now waiting for a go-ahead from the Senate.
