Taiwan is advancing its drone diplomacy by donating 145 uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) to diplomatic allies and establishing overseas branches of the “Global UAV Academy” (GUAVA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
“Drone diplomacy” is a spin on the concept of “chip diplomacy,” leveraging Taiwan’s strengths in key industries to enhance its diplomatic influence, the ministry said in its latest policy report to the Executive Yuan, with officials citing Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung’s (林佳龍) visit to Palau to attend events connected to the Pacific Islands Forum, where he presented drones to diplomatic allies at the Palau Taiwan Night event.
Drone diplomacy could serve as a pillar of the Diplomatic Allies Prosperity Project under its “integrated diplomacy” framework, the report said.
Photo courtesy of the Chiayi County Government
Drones can be integrated into areas such as smart agriculture, coast guard operations, disaster prevention, medical deliveries, digital governance and sovereign artificial intelligence, making them a key technology to help Taiwan’s diplomatic allies move from simply maintaining ties with Taiwan to achieving greater prosperity, it said.
Efforts to build drone resilience among Taiwan’s diplomatic allies should proceed gradually, with the first phase to focus on training drone pilots, the ministry said.
It has purchased about 145 drones in two categories — training and multifunctional models — which would be donated to diplomatic allies in stages, it said.
It would develop testing sites for use by allies, as well as help establish verification standards and develop regulations with the goal to build and expand overseas markets for Taiwan’s drone industry, it said.
The ministry established a Drone Diplomacy Task Force in October last year to bring together resources from the government, industry and academia, it said.
It helped establish the non-governmental organization GUAVA, which brings greater flexibility in assisting the government with international drone cooperation, it said.
GUAVA plans to set up its offices in Taipei and Chiayi this year, and would work with overseas organizations to establish branches abroad, the ministry added.
GUAVA’s core mission would be to promote international cooperation on uncrewed vehicles, it said.
Through education and training, it would cultivate international talent while connecting resources in areas such as technology research and development, industry alliances and certification mechanisms, it said.
GUAVA is intended to become a hub for Taiwan’s uncrewed vehicle expertise, certification, maintenance, regulatory compliance and institutional exports, serving as a key platform for the shift from “product exports” to “institutional exports” and strengthening its global influence in the uncrewed vehicle sector, it said.
In May, GUAVA — then operating as a preparatory office — signed a letter of intent with the US-based Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International to promote Taiwan-US cooperation on drones.
In July, it signed a letter of intent with the Japan Drone Consortium to strengthen Taiwan-Japan cooperation.
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