《TAIPEI TIMES》 Taiwan, Japan to cooperate in drone supply chain

Ministry of Foreign Affairs drone diplomacy task force chief director Chiang Zhen-wei, front right, and Japan Drone Consortium chairman Kenzo Nonami, front left, sign a letter of intent in Tokyo on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its Global UAV Academy （GUAVA） signed a letter of intent with the Japan Drone Consortium in Tokyo, aiming to lead local companies in leveraging key advantages and promoting Taiwan-Japan cooperation to drive a non-red supply chain for uncrewed vehicles.

Chiang Zhen-wei （江振瑋）, chief executive director of the ministry’s drone diplomacy task force, was invited by consortium chairman Kenzo Nonami to attend this year’s International Drone Expo in Tokyo last week, the ministry said on Saturday.

In a Taiwan-Japan forum on Friday, Chiang talked about national drone strategies and supply chain cooperation, where he provided an in-depth analysis of Taiwan’s industrial advantages and drone diplomacy strategy, it said.

The forum invited a 7A Drones Co Ltd （新樂飛無人機） CEO Hsu Hsin-sheng （許新勝） to talk about the company’s experience in drone technology applications, the ministry said.

The ministry said Nonami and Chiang, on behalf of GUAVA, signed the letter, witnessed by Taiwan’s Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang （李逸洋） and Industrial Technology Research Institute Japan Office Representative Yang Ma-tien （楊馬田）, after the forum ended.

The signing of the letter shows cross-domain integration among the government, the industry and the research sectors’ determination to advance Taiwan-Japan drone diplomacy and industrial cooperation, it said.

Taiwan’s drone industry has three major advantages: outstanding manufacturing capabilities, rich information and communications technology expertise and the resilience of a non-red supply chain, it cited Cheng as saying.

These factors have fostered a cluster ecosystem made up of more than 300 supply chain companies, he said, adding that Taiwan’s government would serve the role of a “drone diplomacy navigator,” creating opportunities for bilateral diplomatic cooperation through establishing business collaborations.

The ministry would partner with GUAVA and First Island Chain nations, including Japan, to cooperate on issues including non-Red supply chains, training and capacity building and the organization of events and competitions for drones, Chiang said.

The collaboration aims to cultivate multinational professional talents and link resources including industry alliances, research and development technologies and certification mechanisms, to help boost Taiwan’s global influence in the field of uncrewed vehicles, he added.

Taiwan and Japan are facing challenges from the global expansion of authoritarianism, so establishing secure and reliable uncrewed vehicle systems with high levels of cybersecurity is an urgent core issue of national security, the ministry cited Nonami as saying.

As Taiwan’s drone industry has already demonstrated speed, scale and resilience, consortium looks forward to signing the letter of intent to build a robust regional democratic supply chain with Taiwan, the ministry also cited him as saying.

With core strengths in manufacturing key drone components and world-leading chip technology, Taiwan would continue to play a pivotal role as a central hub for the global non-Red supply chain, the ministry said.

At the same time, Taiwan would join forces with like-minded democratic partners, including Japan, to jointly promote the security, resilience and prosperity of the global drone supply chain, it added.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES