Why lessons from drone warfare in Ukraine could be key to defending Taiwan against China

Drones will beryllium arsenic cardinal to Taiwan’s nationalist information arsenic they person been for Ukraine, a Taiwanese legislator told Euronews Next.

The embattled country’s warfare efforts person boosted morale connected nan Asian land arsenic it ramps up its ain defences against nan imaginable threat of a early Chinese invasion. 

"When nan United States withdrew from Afghanistan [in 2020], it undermined nan morals of Taiwan tremendously astatine nan time," said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chen Kuan-ting, adding that immoderate group astatine nan clip were moreover trying to transportation their money abroad.

"But past aft Russia initially launched nan warfare against Ukraine… this is nan first clip successful Taiwan that we person a communal ground, we person statement that we astir apt will prevail because of what Ukraine did".

Taiwan, which is astir 180 km from China, functions arsenic an independent populist pinch its ain constitution and elected government.

But China maintains that nan land is simply a renegade state destined for reunification pinch nan mainland, done subject intends if necessary.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said connected Saturday that "the threat China poses [to Taiwan] is existent and it could beryllium imminent".

Beijing is "credibly preparing to perchance usage subject unit to change nan equilibrium of powerfulness successful nan Indo-Pacific".

China’s overseas curate warned nan US against utilizing Taiwan arsenic a bargaining spot to incorporate China and is “playing pinch fire".

In April, China deployed its armed, naval, and aerial forces for drills astir Taiwan. China said nan manoeuvres were to believe a blockade of nan island.

Taiwan has a 'moral responsibility to thief Ukraine'

Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te has called for bid pinch China while besides saying successful April that nan island's defence fund would emergence by 3 per cent of its gross economical output and would betterment its nationalist defence forces.

US President Donald Trump has antecedently said Taiwan should summation its defence spending arsenic precocious arsenic 10 per cent of GDP.

But spending wisely, for illustration Ukraine has done pinch cheaper drones to antagonistic nan first statement of attack, is simply a instruction that Taiwan tin study from, Kuan-ting argues. 

The lawmaker helped found and became president of a alleged Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association successful April, which intends to "send a awesome to nan world, including China, that superpowers whitethorn suffer modern warfare" owed to caller technologies.

The 2nd logic for nan group is to study from Ukraine and beryllium capable to reply questions specified arsenic managing nan logistics of delivering weapons aliases really decisions are made successful warfare. 

"They person nan acquisition we don't have," he said.

Asked if Taiwan is utilizing Ukrainian drones, Kuan-ting said he had nary knowledge of this.

According to nan legislator, based connected conversations he has had pinch Ukrainian think-tanks, China is doing nan aforesaid point successful Europe and is learning "the techniques of nan Russian soldiers" and is besides "there to observe really Westerners respond to their aggressions". 

Taiwan has "a civilized responsibility to thief Ukraine because it's a strategical deterrence to superpowers to motorboat warfare against a peace-loving state specified arsenic Taiwan," he said.

"It proves that moreover if you person those accepted weapons, moreover if you person a bigger economy, bigger troops, you mightiness lose," he added. 

But China excessively has been moving connected asymmetric warfare for nan past decade and is producing "thousands if not millions of drones each year," Kuan-ting said, specified arsenic unmanned aerial conveyance (UAV), unmanned underwater conveyance (UUV) and each kinds of weapons systems. 

"They're bully astatine those [drones] because they judge accepted subject instrumentality is not capable to antagonistic nan United States' ace subject power. So they were focusing connected asymmetric warfare agelong earlier we did, because they were worried astir America's involution successful nan region,” he added. 

However, nan quality betwixt nan warfare successful Ukraine and Taiwan and China’s tensions is that Taiwan is separated by sea, truthful China would person to behaviour an “amphibious attack”.

"If they do so, I judge we will get nan abilities and nan amount of nan drones - UAV, UUV, and each kinds of asymmetric warfare instrumentality - to antagonistic these kinds of aggressions". 

One of Taiwan’s challenges is building capable drones to antagonistic China, Kuan-ting said. 

"We are trying to reverse nan situation, that they [China] person nan amount we don't.  That's why successful nan past two, 3 years, nan Ministry of Defence, and besides astir of nan activity of Taiwan, decided to effort to see much nationalist companies". 

"Instead of accepted instrumentality for illustration large tanks, large aeroplanes, they astir apt couldn't accommodate to modern warfare. We decided to bargain smart and usage a smart limb system," he said.

The gangly drone order

Taiwan has group itself nan extremity of manufacturing 15,000 domestically made drones a period by 2028. 

It is simply a gangly order, but Taiwan is simply a beardown manufacturing state known for its quality. 

However, Taiwan-made drones costs connected mean 25 per cent much to make than Chinese drones. 

Scaling Taiwan’s defence tech companies is truthful paramount, and moving pinch Europe and nan US to grow nan markets will beryllium key, nan legislator said. 

At Taiwan’s biggest tech adjacent COMPUTEX successful May, 1 Taiwanese defence institution is utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to vastly amended thermal cameras that spot successful nan acheronian and explain nan sound successful its audio equipment. 

The company, Thunder Fortis, says its exertion tin observe enemies from 300 m distant successful nan dark. 

"Our advantage is besides our challenge. So we want to nutrient internally, but our costs will beryllium very precocious if we don't trust connected exports from different countries," income head Nancy Lin told Euronews Next.

"Our situation will beryllium to effort to waste to nan market, but still support a debased cost. But we are very assured successful manufacturing bully value products that not only service nan subject market," she added. 

The institution is truthful acold partnering pinch tech giants specified arsenic Nvidia and Arm.

"Everyone is alert that Taiwan is successful a strategical position successful nan Taiwan Strait, and we person our friends from Japan, South Korea, and besides from different countries," she said. 

"We don't want to make different countries an enemy, it's a spot sensitive, but we want to make ourselves beardown capable truthful nary 1 will effort to break our boundaries of our countries.

"Especially galore of our components are made successful Taiwan, assembled successful Taiwan manufactured successful Taiwan truthful we tin trust connected our self-produced products and we don't request to trust connected imports from different countries," she said.

'We can’t do this alone'

But to deter China, it is not conscionable astir building nan champion defence tech, it is besides basal to usage inexpensive methods to destruct subject targets specified arsenic drones.

"It's not conscionable astir drones to drones, it's astir really to use nan champion systems, nan champion instrumentality to make judge they cannot adjacent nan Taiwan Strait," Kuan-ting said. 

"I judge if location is immoderate state that tin extremity China, Taiwan mightiness beryllium 1 of them, but it has to beryllium corporate actions pinch our partners. So we can't do this alone," nan legislator added. 

Trump’s America First waste and acquisition argumentation has sent shockwaves astir nan world and raised questions complete world relations.

Despite this, Kuan-ting believes that Taiwan’s ties to nan US are still conscionable arsenic beardown arsenic earlier Trump’s reelection. 

"I judge nan Congress and nan Senate of nan United States are sending very patient and clear signals to Taiwan and China that nan United States is staying pinch america and they are providing america much subject equipment," he said.

There has been speculation of Europe’s rapprochement pinch China owed to Trump’s tariffs. However, nan legislator believes that nan bloc’s relationship pinch Taiwan is still close.

"Most of our friends successful Europe are alert of nan business and are besides alert of really nan Chinese authorities is trying to dump their EVs (electric vehicles) onto Europe,  truthful we person beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid communal ground. They're facing economical [threats], we are facing some economical and militarised threats," he said. 

'Partner successful its ain right'

Marcin Jerzewski, caput of nan Taiwan Office of nan European Values Center for Security Policy, said that "it's excessively early to opportunity that Europe is distancing itself from Taiwan" and that he has "high hopes" related to nan upcoming EU-China acme that will hap successful Beijing. 

However, he said that this does not mean that Europe will move distant from Taiwan.

"I judge that a batch of signs of goodwill and openness that are coming retired of nan existent European Commission towards China are besides a awesome to nan United States that nan EU is consenting to proceed down nan way of strategical autonomy".

He said that Europeans still has a inclination to look astatine Taiwan arsenic only a difficult subset of wide relations pinch China, alternatively than trying to look astatine Taiwan arsenic a partner successful its ain right.

But he said location is simply a mini displacement successful Europe looking astatine Taiwan arsenic a partner connected its own. 

"It doesn't mean that we're recognising Taiwan arsenic an independent state aliases abandoning one-China policy, but it's astir identifying spaces for engagement that are not conscionable sub-engagements nether this broader umbrella of dealings pinch China," he said. 

Jerzewski besides said that Chinese accusation operations are playing a large domiciled successful stoking section successful Taiwan.

He said that this has 2 objectives. The first is sowing nan seeds of anti-Americanism.

"Definitely successful nan existent climate, pinch unpredictability reigned successful by Trump 2.0, China has been talented galore narratives connected a metallic platter because location is nary longer a request for them to nutrient this information. They tin conscionable amplify nan existent headlines that are coming retired of DC," he said.

The 2nd nonsubjective has ever been to undermine antiauthoritarian processes, trust, and nan nationalist spot successful antiauthoritarian processes and institutions, he added.

However, Taiwan is besides utilizing exertion to boost its ain overseas argumentation standing.

During nan a caller reside by nan Taiwanese president Lai Ching-te, he highlighted a request to move Taiwan into an "AI island" and usage its advantage of semiconductors to beryllium up of nan curve and embed Taiwan very firmly successful those AI proviso chains, truthful that giving up connected Taiwan is much difficult for countries astir nan world.

Taiwan also, successful its National Security Act, included circumstantial provisions for protecting its talent and technology.

"I deliberation that this ineligible alteration is simply a very conspicuous manifestation of this realisation astir nan simultaneous pursuit of some technological advancement and beefing up its information strategies," Jerzewski said.

Securing Taiwan and Ukraine is cardinal to world security, nan legislator said, urging Europe to proceed its support for Taiwan and Ukraine. 

"It serves some nationalist interests and values arsenic well. If you want to stay, if you want to unrecorded nan measurement you want, freely, past we must extremity them. 

"Because they are trying to undermine everything we are opinionated for, nan measurement we live. We should not fto that happen, because if it happened successful Ukraine, it could hap to Poland.

"If it happened to Taiwan, it could hap to different neighbours. So we person to extremity nan domino here," he said.