Taiwan to launch 'drone diplomacy' initiative to aid allies

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Taiwan will engage in "drone diplomacy" by supplying drones to its diplomatic allies for civilian uses and like-minded European countries facing Russian military threats, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official said at a forum Wednesday.

Speaking at the EU-Taiwan Drones Technology & Export forum, Charlie Chiang (江振瑋), head of MOFA's Department of NGO International Affairs, noted that the development of Taiwan's drone industry trails that of the information and communications technology and artificial intelligence sectors.

He attributed this to insufficient production volume, which will be solved by the government's plan to procure nearly 50,000 military drones from local manufacturers by 2027 and increasing drone exports.

To that end, Chiang said, MOFA plans to establish a "drone diplomacy task force," which will carry out its work in two phases.

The first phase will focus on supplying Taiwan's diplomatic allies through drone donations to be used in agriculture, logistics, disaster prevention, coast guard, health care and infrastructure surveillance, he said.

The second phase will target like-minded international partners in the Asia-Pacific region such as Japan and the Philippines, Chiang said, adding that supply will include unmanned surface vessels, drones and underwater drones.

In addition, Taiwan will supply Central and Eastern European countries threatened by Russia, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany.

"This demand will focus on military use, especially for the land and battlefield under the threat of Russia," he said.

"As the Russian-Ukrainian war continues, neighboring countries have been harassed by Russian drones and are looking to build an air defense network," Chiang told CNA on the sidelines of the forum.

The task force will note the needs of its international partners and relay them to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the competent authority for the drone industry, which will then initiate a matchmaking process between local suppliers and foreign buyers, he said.

Asked when the two phases will begin, Chiang said no timelines has been determined, but MOFA is set to discuss the issue with MOEA at a ministerial meeting next week.