Can Taiwan fulfil its Asia-Pacific drone hub goal with a ‘non-red’ supply chain push?

Taipei aims to leverage geopolitics by positioning itself as an Asia-Pacific drone hub built on a supply chain decoupled from mainland China, though challenges relating to scale, politics and timing threaten its ambitious industrial strategy.The push reflects a broader effort by the administration of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te to position the island as a node in what officials have described as a “democratic supply chain” free of mainland Chinese components amid rising geopolitical tensions.Under a government blueprint, Taiwan plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) between 2025 and 2030 to develop its uncrewed systems industry, with the aim of lifting annual output to NT$40 billion by the end of the decade.Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai said drones were no longer confined to military use and would become central to future supply chains spanning logistics, agriculture and infrastructure inspection.“The goal is to build Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific hub for the democratic drone supply chain,” Cho said during a visit to a counter-drone system maker in central Taiwan on Sunday.The strategy would help firms expand globally while strengthening industrial autonomy, he added.Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai says drones will become central to the island’s future supply chains. Photo: AFP