At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Cho Jung-tai received a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) report on a comprehensive program to develop the drone industry, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). The premier said that amid global geopolitical shifts, secure and trusted supply chains are becoming increasingly vital. In this context, drones not only play a pivotal role in asymmetric warfare but also hold significant potential for emerging civilian applications.
Premier Cho pointed out that the drone industry—part of the Five Trusted Industry Sectors announced by President Lai Ching-te—is being developed based on the three key policy goals of advancing industrial development, achieving national defense autonomy and building democratic supply chains. He said the government will promote the drone industry through four main strategies: on the market front, by expanding domestic and international demand to guide industrial development; on the technology front, by fostering technological advancement and international cooperation; on the environmental front, by forming industry clusters and ecosystems; and on the legislative front, by improving regulations related to unmanned vehicles.
The premier instructed the MOEA, National Science and Technology Council, and Ministry of National Defense to collaborate with other ministries and agencies in accelerating the expansion of domestic demand and the development of new drone applications, while capitalizing on business opportunities arising from the international shift of orders to non-red supply chains. The goal is to establish Taiwan as the Asia-Pacific hub of the democratic drone supply chain—enabling the nation's drone industry to expand globally, demonstrating its industrial autonomy and highlighting the values of democratic supply chains.