Taiwan eyes sea drones to counter China

Inspired by Ukraine, Taipei plans fleet of sea drones to protect itself from attack. By Yimou Lee

- By Yimou Lee

Just off the small Taiwan fishing port of Wushi on its Pacific coast, a Taiwanese company is testing what could eventually be a powerful but unglamorous new weapon in the island's military arsenal: sea drones.

Used to great effect by Ukraine in the Black Sea against Russia, Taiwan is learning lessons on how it could use sea drones as an effective and low-cost way to fend off any possible Chinese invasion.

These drones are uncrewed, remotely controlled small vessels that are packed with explosives and can be guided toward ships or potentially even attack targets in the air.

Pushed by the United States, Taiwan has been working to transform its armed forces to be able to wage "asymmetric warfare", using mobile, smaller and often cheaper weapons which still pack a targeted punch, like sea drones.

"Uncrewed boats or vehicles have played a very significant role in the Ukraine war," Chen Kuan-ting, a lawmaker for Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who sits on parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, told Reuters.

"Uncrewed vehicles, whether they are boats or underwater vehicles, can effectively deter China because Taiwan is not the attacking side, we are the defending side," he said.

Taiwan's defence ministry's research and development arm, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, has termed the sea drone plan the "Swift and Sudden" project, which so far has a modest budget of around T$800 million ($26.77 million, or 867 million baht).