China to share satellite system with Thailand

China successfully launches a Beidou navigation satellite into space on Oct 25, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Two nations to build joint facility for Beidou navigation technology

China's homegrown Beidou Navigation Satellite System will begin overseas operations next year in Thailand.

The move is the first step in efforts to promote Beidou abroad, with the initial phase expected to focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Officials with the Wuhan Information Technology Outsourcing Service and Research Center and Thailand's Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency made the announcement in Bangkok on Wednesday.

An agreement with an expected value of $319 million inked by the countries in March established a commitment to cooperate on construction of Thailand's geospatial system, giving the country access to China's advanced technology, products and services.

The two sides have agreed to start building a model satellite station based on Beidou in an industrial estate in Thailand's eastern Chon Buri province next month, and nationwide construction will begin early next year.

Anond Snidvongs, executive director of the Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency under Thailand's Ministry of Science and Technology, said the Thai government will list the construction of a disaster forecasting system based on Beidou into its overall economic development plan.

Beidou will be used in many sectors, such as agricultural disaster warning, transportation, power distribution and environment, he said.

Thailand is one of the 10 members of ASEAN to whom promoting Beidou "is of great strategic significance to China", according to Jin Xiaoming, director of international cooperation for the Ministry of Science and Technology.

"It can prove Beidou is capable of providing cross-boundary navigation services," he said prior to Wednesday's announcement. "Moreover, this means the rest of the world will rank China as an equal in navigation services."

There are four major navigation systems: Beidou, the United States' Global Positioning System, Galileo in Europe and Russia's Glonass.

GPS was put into service in 1964 and its satellite network covers the globe, while Glonass had full global coverage by 2011 and Galileo is still under construction.

"Beidou will be able to provide a global service by 2015," said Liu Junyi, deputy director of the Wuhan center.

Beidou went into service in 2011 with a 16-satellite network over the Asia-Pacific region.