Taiwan has signed an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) development memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Arizona, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The MOU was signed by Taiwan-USA Industrial Cooperation Promotion Office chief executive officer Jeff Lin (林昭憲) and Arizona-Taiwan Trade and Investment Office representative Steve Hsu (徐竹先) in Taipei on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.
Industrial Development Administration (IDA) Deputy Secretary-General Chen Pei-li (陳佩利) and Arizona Commerce Authority president and CEO Sandra Watson attended the signing ceremony, the ministry said.
Photo: Liu Yu-chieh, Taipei Times
The Russia-Ukraine war has drawn much global attention to the military use of drones, while the importance of civilian use of drones in communications, transportation and disaster relief has also gained importance, Chen said.
At a time when China accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the global commercial drone market, Taiwan and the US should work together to build a supply chain free from the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and ensure their national security, she said.
The IDA provides subsidies for the development of critical components for drones, including parts used in communications, payload capacity, flight control and artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition, the ministry said.
The IDA’s efforts aim to transform Taiwan into a drone supply hub and raise its status in the global economy, it said.
In addition, Taiwan opened the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Center in Chiayi County in August 2022 by integrating resources from more than 30 manufacturers for drone development, it said.
The cooperation with Arizona is expected to give additional technology support to Taiwan’s drone manufacturers, Chen said, adding that both sides would be able to take a larger share of the global drone market.
In April, the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s (ITRI) branch in North America signed an agreement with the center in Chiayi County, paving the way to drone development cooperation by taking advantage of ITRI’s resources in North America, Lin said.
The MOU signed on Monday would strengthen the partnership between Taiwan and Arizona, Lin said.
In addition to drone cooperation, Taiwan hopes to work with the US state in semiconductor equipment development, Chen said.
While Taiwan has built a strong pure-play wafer foundry services business, semiconductor equipment technology from the US has become an indispensable part of its success, she said.
As a result, Taiwan wants to reinforce cooperation in chip equipment development with the US, Chen said, adding that talent exchanges and training are expected to lay a good foundation.
Watson, who led a delegation to Taiwan for the MOU signing, said the US is looking forward to cooperating with Taiwan in drone and semiconductor development.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is building two advanced fabs in Arizona and plans to build a third one there, with investments in the US state expected to top US$65 billion.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS