00:00Taiwan is looking to work with other democracies to secure its place in the global drone supply chain.
00:06At a Taiwanese-German aerospace conference in Taipei, the head of Taiwan's drone diplomacy group said
00:12Taiwan's manufacturing strengths could help it become the center of a non-red supply chain
00:17when it avoids components from China and other authoritarian countries.
00:21Taiwan has recently seen a boom in drone exports.
00:24Last month, the economy ministry said shipments in the first quarter alone already surpassed the total for all of last
00:31year.
00:34For more on Taiwan's drone diplomacy and exports, our reporter Larry Isiano spoke with Marcin Yejevsky
00:40from the Taiwan Office of the European Value Center.
00:44What do you think about Taiwan's drone diplomacy efforts, especially with regards to European countries?
00:48Taiwan is definitely very active across the number of EU member states in exploring opportunities
00:55how to collaborate with companies that have manufactured combat-tested drones in Europe
01:02and then simultaneously trying to understand how it can best embed itself in European drone supply chains.
01:09In general, I would like to highlight that the Taiwanese aspiration to cooperate on drone production with Europe more
01:16is a very unique example of very dexterous reading of European policy priorities.
01:23So, with drone cooperation, on the one hand, there is the normative component about linking democracies together
01:28and presenting Taiwan as a partner that can boost economic resilience of European democracies.
01:36Drone diplomacy has great potential, and it is also a very effective way for Taiwan to diversify its application
01:46of the nexus of industrial prowess and geopolitical positioning.
01:52Taiwan is a manufacturing hub, but what do you think other countries can bring in terms of their own comparative
01:55advantages?
01:56There are European countries that have comparative advantage in particular sectors
02:01that are connected to the manufacturing of drones.
02:04Here, one concrete example that I would like to highlight is Lithuania.
02:09Both sides have cooperated on developments in the optical industry that's particularly strong in Lithuania.
02:15That refers to, specifically, Lithuanian lasers.
02:20So far, Taiwan has been working with Lithuanian partners on developing laser technologies
02:25that are useful to its semiconductor industry and manufacturing of the smallest and fastest chips.
02:32At the same time, there is a lot of potential to expand this cooperation also to the drone supply chain,
02:37for example, for optical elements for these unmanned systems, whether for reconnaissance or precise strikes, etc.
02:46And therefore, there are many lessons that Taiwan can draw from Ukraine.
02:49Ukrainian companies have some of the most cutting-edge, most advanced solutions for anti-drone systems.
02:55And cooperation with Ukrainian companies can really offer the Taiwanese defense procurement
03:03a new perspective on what cost-effectiveness really means.
03:07Have there been any recent developments that you're paying attention to that you think will indicate how this is going
03:11to move forward?
03:12The way in which Taiwan seeks to embed itself in European drone supply chains
03:17mirrors very closely the priorities defined by the European Union, starting with the drone strategy,
03:24but also in the context of the European preparedness roadmap by 2030,
03:29as well as the overall push to boost Europe's defense industrial capacity without relying on red suppliers in the supply
03:39chains,
03:39without relying on components from malign authoritarian actors, such as the People's Republic of China.
03:45I also believe that drone diplomacy is a very well-structured operationalization of what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
03:53under Foreign Minister Lin Jialong calls integrated diplomacy.
03:58That was Marcin Yajewski from the European Values Center.
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