EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW/US, Taiwan 'well-positioned' to cooperate on drones, chips: AIT director

Taipei, Sept. 26 (CNA) The new United States de facto ambassador to Taiwan on Thursday said the two sides are "well-positioned" to build drones of the future, while the ongoing bilateral cooperation in the semiconductor sector is mutually beneficial and not a "zero-sum" game.

Speaking to CNA in his first media interview since taking office as director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Raymond Greene reaffirmed Washington's commitment to helping Taipei defend itself, and noted that Taiwan and the U.S. are well-positioned to collaborate on building a secure defense supply chain, in particular in drone production.

Around the world, people are realizing drones are the future in defense, disaster response, environmental monitoring and fire response, according to the director.

There's also a growing realization that the world is "too reliant on a single producer of drones," namely, China as "over 90 percent of consumer drones in the world are produced in China," Greene said.

"So there's a huge focus on how we can diversify the supply chains and create a secure supply chain to meet the demand in a secure way," he said.

Taiwan and the U.S. are especially "well-positioned" to partner in this field, as both have dynamic drone technology sectors, and because the future of drones is increasingly tied to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), an area where both Taiwan and the U.S. excel, he said.

"No two partners are better placed to lead the world in AI technology than the United States and Taiwan," Greene said, highlighting the U.S.' strengths in AI research and development and Taiwan's leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.

Meanwhile, when asked about the remarks by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in July that Taiwan had taken away all of the U.S.' chip business, Greene stressed that the ongoing cooperation between the two sides in the semiconductor sector is mutually beneficial.

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek published on July 16, Trump said Taiwan "took all of [the U.S.] chip business" and should pay the U.S. for defense.

The comments sent shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and related tech shares plummeting over concerns that a Trump return to the White House could lead to cuts or the cancellation of subsidies for TSMC's US$65 billion investment in building three advanced wafer fabs in Arizona.

Greene told CNA that AIT is a neutral organization and, as such, he would not comment on the November election, but said that "people in Taiwan should take confidence in the fact that U.S.-Taiwan relations are very, very bipartisan."

AIT serves as the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

"We've seen incredible consistency even between the Trump administration and the Biden administration. Taiwan's self-defense capabilities, whether it's initiatives like the U.S.-Taiwan Education Initiative or the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, all of these initiatives started in the previous administration and got stronger in the current administration."

"And regardless of what happens in November, I think this kind of collaboration will continue," he added.

Greene lauded the collaboration on semiconductors as it allows the U.S., the world leader in chip design, and Taiwan, the maker of the world's most advanced chips, to work together.

However, Taiwan, due to its lack of land, human resources and renewable energy, "can't accommodate all of the demand that we expect in the future, especially given the innovations of AI," he said.

"And given just the limitations here in Taiwan, I think naturally you'll see more manufacturing shifting to the United States and other partners," he said. "I think this will actually increase the overall health of the market. It will increase the resilience."

"And we don't see this as a zero-sum. In fact, this is going to benefit both sides," he stressed.

Greene, whose most recent post was deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy in Japan, took up the Taipei post in July, succeeding Sandra Oudkirk, who left the office after concluding her three-year tenure.

The AIT noted that Greene has been posted to Taiwan three times. He served as deputy AIT director from 2018 to 2021.