How to control the use of drones and ultralight aircraft (UAVs) to ensure safety and security while creating convenience and openness for economic and entertainment activities is a difficult issue when building the Law on People's Air Defense.
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| Unmanned aerial vehicles and ultralight aircraft are widely used and applied in many areas of social life. |
UAV violations are becoming more and more complicated.
To be submitted to the National Assembly for its first comments at the session next May, the Draft Law on People's Air Defense (Draft) focuses on five policies, including regulations on UAV management.
According to the assessment of the Ministry of National Defense (the agency in charge of drafting the draft law), the management of UAVs from the perspective of civil aviation and their application in production and business practices as they are now still leave open issues of ensuring national defense and aviation security. At the same time, many issues arising from the practical development and widespread application of unmanned devices and ultralight vehicles are difficult to handle at the level of decrees and documents of the Ministry of National Defense due to the provisions related to human rights and civil rights that must be adjusted at the level of law to comply with the requirements of the 2013 Constitution and to be consistent and synchronized with the Investment Law.
Drones and ultra-light aircraft are widely used in many areas of social life such as meteorology, agriculture, entertainment, movies, short-range delivery testing, etc. However, the Ministry of National Defense recognizes that these flying devices can also be the direct cause of incidents affecting national defense, security, order, social safety, and aviation safety.
In particular, unmanned aircraft and ultra-light aircraft are easily used by reactionary, opposing and hostile forces as tools to carry out acts of terrorism, sabotage, video recording, photography, and dropping explosives, flammable substances and toxic substances for the purpose of propaganda, distortion and sabotage of the Party and State, causing unpredictable consequences and posing a potential risk to social life.
According to the Ministry of Defense's assessment, in the world, there have been many cases of using unmanned aircraft and ultra-light aircraft carrying weapons to destroy military targets, assassinate, and attack important targets of hostile countries and territories.
In Vietnam, the Ministry of National Defense stated that in recent years, many cases of illegal use of UAVs have been discovered and handled, such as flying without permission, flying into no-fly zones, or opposition groups using drones to record protests and spread them on social networks to incite subversive activities... Some military units have also discovered drones and ultralight aircraft encroaching on military areas.
Notably, according to the Ministry of Defense, violations in the use of UAVs have increased in both number and dangerous nature.
Therefore, the construction of the People's Air Defense Law requires creating a synchronous and unified legal corridor in state management of UAVs. The chosen solution is to stipulate in the People's Air Defense Law on UAV management, including the following contents: the right to exploit, use, and the right to invest and do business with these types of vehicles.
“In addition to positive impacts such as promoting the development and application of these vehicles in social life, this solution will generate costs for the subjects participating in UAV management,” the drafting agency assessed.
In a preliminary review, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's Defense and Security Committee proposed considering regulations requiring UAV operators to be 18 years of age or older and trained in aviation knowledge to suit reality. Because, unmanned aerial vehicles are being widely used to serve other purposes in agriculture, forestry, information and communication, cinema, entertainment, etc.
To ensure the harmonious combination of national defense - security interests and socio-economic development, the Standing Committee of the inspection agency believes that regulations should be made in the direction of each type of equipment and flying vehicle to regulate the appropriate age of use.
Which agency issues business licenses?
During the discussion at the law-making session of the National Assembly Standing Committee last week, many opinions were still concerned about regulations related to UAVs.
Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Law Committee, Ms. Tran Hong Nguyen, said that the Draft adds UAV business to the list of conditional investment and business sectors in Appendix 4 of the Investment Law. According to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 7 of the Investment Law, business conditions for conditional investment and business sectors must be stipulated in laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, and resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee.
Commenting on the Draft, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said that it is necessary to consider regulating the activities of research, design, production, repair, maintenance, and testing of UAVs as conditional business lines, requiring a license to operate. Because these industries do not really have a direct impact on public interests such as risks to aviation safety, risks to national defense and security. Therefore, VCCI proposed that the drafting agency re-examine the business conditions for UAV production and trading activities, and consider removing these regulations.
Therefore, the Standing Committee of the Law Committee proposes to stipulate conditions for UAV business in the Draft. In case there are no regulations in the Draft, the Government will be assigned to specify them to have a basis for implementation.
Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Tan Cuong explained that trading in drones is a conditional business that requires licensing, even trading in individual components must be registered, because only importing individual components can assemble a drone. “If drones are not managed, they will directly affect national security, not only in wartime, but also in peacetime,” Mr. Cuong emphasized.
The Deputy Minister of National Defense also stated that the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall be responsible for granting business licenses, export, import, temporary import, and re-export licenses. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall grant licenses for aircraft operating in the fields under their charge. Specifically, Clause 4, Article 28 of the Draft stipulates: The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall grant business licenses for unmanned aircraft and ultralight aircraft to agencies, organizations, and individuals. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall grant licenses to agencies under their management.
According to National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, this regulation is unclear and inappropriate and needs to be adjusted to comply with the law on investment and business.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said that current regulations have assigned the provincial business registration office to carry out business registration for conditional business lines, and UAV business is just one of them. “Therefore, assigning the Ministry of Planning and Investment to grant licenses is not appropriate and does not ensure overall consistency. Because there are currently 234 conditional business lines and the business registration office can do it all,” said Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong.
Mr. Dong proposed a regulation in the Draft: "Organizations and enterprises operating in the business of unmanned aircraft and ultralight aircraft must register their business at the competent business registration agency and must meet all business conditions when conducting business in conditional business lines and conditional market access lines for foreign investors according to the provisions of law and ensure that such conditions are maintained throughout the operation."
Mr. Nguyen Tan Cuong wondered whether the UAV business is a weapons business, so the provincial level can undertake the licensing. Chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee Le Quang Manh said that assigning the provincial business registration office to issue licenses is just a simple record of the business field of a normal enterprise, not a business license.
“The draft must add provisions regulating specific conditions for the drone business, assigning licensing agencies, and certainly not the Ministry of Planning and Investment, because it involves the management of a sensitive and important industry,” said Mr. Manh.
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