Taiwan recognizes the significance of employing various tools at the international level to safeguard its existence and democratic identity, two intrinsically linked components. In this regard, the Asian nation is deepening ties with different like-minded countries with the aim of exploring potential defense agreements, particularly in the drone industry.
Taiwan aims to achieve two critical goals — establishing a continuously growing domestic industry and positioning itself as a key partner for various European nations. In that sense, the current rate of engagement suggests that Taipei holds the necessary tools and credentials to achieve these objectives.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said earlier this year, Taipei intends to leverage comprehensive diplomacy to strengthen economic ties with its partners, demonstrating its indispensable role in the global supply chain. Regarding the drone sector, this can also lay the basis for enhanced defense relations, notwithstanding the traditional reluctance of European nations to engage with Taiwan in this area.
A brilliant case in point that illustrates it concerns the advancement of dialogues with Poland and the Czech Republic at the beginning of this year. With the government fully behind them, various drone companies traveled to these nations to achieve three main objectives — promote drone industry development in each of the involved nations, collaborate in the production of drones and gradually gain significant access to the European market.
In this regard, it is pertinent to emphasize how the foundations established might pave the way to bring Taiwan closer to other European nations as well, particularly in a sector such as military collaboration, where numerous opportunities for cooperation exist.
The initial steps taken signal the intention of various democratic nations to regard Taiwan without adopting a perspective filtered by the apprehension of potential Chinese retaliation. It demonstrates the extent to which the gains derived from deepening relations with Taipei outweigh the potential risks associated with adopting this stance.
Accordingly, democratic nations are increasingly reconsidering their stance on Taiwan. This shift is driven by a growing appreciation for its strong democracy and principled international actions, such as its firm support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
This positive turn is likely to encourage other nations to adopt a similar perspective, particularly as Taiwan’s democratic resilience and commitment to international principles become increasingly evident in a complex global landscape.
Within the domain of the drone industry, Taiwan has the opportunity to capitalize on the prevailing momentum to fortify its relations with Scandinavian nations and the Netherlands, given their particular emphasis on drone applications tailored to objectives encompassing environmental surveillance and resource management.
Therefore, by starting with a collaboration founded on civilian applications to achieve results in precision agriculture, resource management and the inspection of energy infrastructure, the relevant parties can establish the groundwork for a cooperative ecosystem capable of expanding into other sectors.
With respect to that, by building upon the initial engagement in civilian sectors, the parties’ mutual understanding and trust can pave the way for future cooperation in areas such as security and defense, ultimately leading to a genuine, mutually beneficial cooperation in the military domain.
Within this context, the development of dual-use technologies might serve as the very vehicle through which the partnership can evolve toward security applications without the need for a uniform characterization of the partnership.
Taiwan is acutely aware of the critical importance of forging ties in the drone industry, an imperative that aligns with the political agenda of its government. Through these partnerships, Taipei is looking to augment national security via the advancement of technological capabilities and defensive capacities.
Furthermore, it aims to bolster existing relationships and create new ones with like-minded nations to advance its strategic agenda and achieve its main objectives in the international arena.
With international trust in Taiwan steadily growing, especially within the context of increasing authoritarianism, Taipei intends to build upon this momentum to forge mutually beneficial relationships with a forward-looking perspective. In this regard, the sustained support of the international community would prove instrumental in the realization of Taiwan’s predetermined objectives within an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape.
Michele Maresca is an analyst at Il Caffe Geopolitico, an online international law journal, and the think tank Geopol21.
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