Taiwan learns from the war in Ukraine. Speeds up work on military drones

Unmanned aerial vehicles have played a key role on both sides since Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February last year. Ukraine’s defense minister said he sees drones as the future of modern warfare.

Taiwanwhich is facing an increasing threat of force by China in order to subdue it to Beijing, he has repeatedly said that he is watching the war closely and drawing lessons that he could use to repel a potential Chinese attack, including how Ukraine resisted numerically superior forces.

On Tuesday, Taiwan Ministry of Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang told reporters that the island was accelerating work on military drones. “Responding to the current enemy threat and using the general experience of drone participation in the Ukraine-Russia war to construct our country’s asymmetric drone combat force, the defense ministry is accelerating the research and development and production of various drones,” Sun said.

He also added that the Chung-Shan National Institute of Science and Technology, which belongs to the military, will take the lead in the development of drones and will involve civilian companies.

Chi Li-ping, director of the institute’s Aeronautical Systems Research Department, said that “our country’s drones have already reached international standards in terms of their type, capabilities and relevant technology.”

The communist authorities in Beijing recognize the democratically governed Taiwan as an inseparable part of the PRC and strive to take control over it, not excluding the possibility of using force. They also strongly protest against any contacts with Taipei at the state level.

Last year, the Chinese military conducted an unprecedented exercise around Taiwan in what Beijing described as retaliation for a visit by the then speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in Taipei. The Chinese authorities also reacted angrily to the tightening of cooperation with Taiwan by Lithuania.