The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has officially recognized the China-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) as one of its standards, marking the BDS a globally accepted satellite navigation system for civil aviation, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Thursday.

According to the administration, the latest revised version of Annex 10 to the International Civil Aviation Convention, which includes standards and recommended measures for the BDS, has officially come into effect, marking the official inclusion of the BDS into the ICAO standards.

The BDS is a satellite navigation system developed and operated by China, with a focus on national security and socio-economic development. It is also one of the four global satellite navigation systems recognized by the United Nations, along with the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo. It has served users in more than 200 countries and regions worldwide.