US lawmakers want the Trump administration to work to bolster Taiwan’s domestic drone industry as it faces rising threats from China.
A new bill from Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, John Curtis, R-Utah, and Andy Kim, D-N.J., would set up a working group involving the US State Department and Pentagon to evaluate Taiwan’s capacity to manufacture drones domestically and find ways for the US and Taiwan to co-produce drones and their components.
The idea of the bill, text of which was shared first with Semafor, is to develop a drone supply chain independent from China that Taiwan and other US allies can rely on.
To that end, the legislation also calls on the US government to form a broader partnership with Taiwan and other allies in Asia to promote China-independent drone supply chains.
“Our bipartisan effort not only protects American strategic interests and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, but it also ensures that Taiwan is well-equipped to develop unmanned aerial systems in support of its own defense and our national security,” Merkley told Semafor in a statement.
It’s unclear whether the legislation will go anywhere in the Senate, where there is broad bipartisan support for Taiwan.
China has increasingly used drones to pressure Taiwan, including reportedly deploying attack drones produced from fighter jets to bases near the Taiwan Strait.