[Politics] Cheng Mei-ling: Accelerate the Promotion of a Wholly Non-Red Supply Chain for Unmanned Vehicles to Build a Key Strategic Industry
bellala 央廣7h agoEdited
The Executive Yuan announced today (17th) in a press release that Vice Premier Cheng Mei-ling chaired the Executive Yuan's "Special Meeting on the Development and Management Mechanism of the Unmanned Vehicle Industry" on the 12th, discussing topics such as the international alignment of drone cybersecurity testing, unmanned vehicle testing sites, procurement mechanisms, and the legal system for managing surface and underwater unmanned vehicles. Cheng Mei-ling stated that in the face of the rapid development of the global unmanned vehicle industry, the government will continue to optimize the regulatory environment, improve inspection processes, and enhance testing sites, strengthen industry promotion measures, promote government procurement mechanisms for a wholly non-red supply chain, and enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan's drone industry.
The Executive Yuan pointed out that the government launched the coordinating mechanism for the "Special Meeting on the Development and Management Mechanism of the Unmanned Vehicle Industry" in August 2024. In January 2025, it established three major policy goals: "Industry Development, National Defense Autonomy, and Democratic Supply Chain." Based on five major strategies including "Expanding domestic and foreign demand to guide industrial development," "Technology development and international linkage," "Forming an industrial cluster ecosystem," "Establishing usage regulations and promoting cybersecurity testing," and "Enhancing the defense resilience of the entire society," the government is moving towards the goal of implementing a wholly non-red supply chain by 2027.
Premier Cho Jung-tai approved the "Coordinated Plan for the Development of the Unmanned Vehicle Industry" in October 2025, with an investment of NT$44.2 billion over six years. This plan aims to guide technological innovation and supply chain autonomy through systematic strategies, with the hope of making Taiwan the Asia-Pacific center for the democratic supply chain of drones.
Cheng Mei-ling stated that in terms of optimizing the regulatory environment, various ministries and agencies have completed several important foundational legal tasks. These include the Ministry of Transportation and Communications amending and issuing the "Regulations on the Control of Remote-Controlled Unmanned Aircraft" in December 2024, and the Ministry of Digital Affairs establishing the "Cybersecurity Testing Specifications for Remote-Controlled Unmanned Aircraft." In 2025, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Ocean Affairs Council completed the "Safety Management Regulations for Specific Testing Waters for Surface and Underwater Unmanned Vehicles" and the "Guidelines for the Use of Space for Maritime Testing Activities of Surface/Underwater Unmanned Vehicles." In 2026, the Executive Yuan's Public Construction Commission will issue the "Procurement Operation Guidelines for Remote-Controlled Unmanned Aircraft," the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications will issue the "Cybersecurity Testing Specifications for Drone Countermeasure Systems," and the Executive Yuan will issue the "Regulations on the Management of Drone Property."
She added that it is expected that by July this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications will complete the "General Safety Management Regulations for Surface and Underwater Unmanned Vehicles." Furthermore, by the end of this year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications will submit an amendment to the "Ship Act," and the Ocean Affairs Council will submit the "Maritime Space Utilization Management Act" to the Executive Yuan for review.
Cheng Mei-ling pointed out that since August 2025, the Executive Yuan has completed the inventory of 18 small and medium-sized and 2 large drone testing sites, as well as the dedicated testing airspace at the Liujia Wushantou Reservoir in the southern campus of the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Additionally, 14 water testing sites have been established, and the designation of some offshore testing sites is currently underway, to improve the construction of unmanned vehicle testing sites.
Regarding cybersecurity testing, Cheng Mei-ling stated that the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications amended the "Cybersecurity Testing Specifications for Remote-Controlled Unmanned Aircraft" on April 30, 2025, officially adopting national standards that correspond to EU regulations. They also simultaneously recognized the US Green UAS certification and included a testing mechanism for products of the same specification and architecture, avoiding redundant testing, significantly simplifying the submission process for businesses, and reducing testing costs.
Furthermore, the Industrial Technology Research Institute signed a cooperation agreement with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) in January of this year, becoming a US-authorized third-party accredited assessment body. The assessment body officially began operations on June 4th, making Taiwan the first Green UAS accredited assessment site outside the United States. In the future, domestic businesses can complete the Green UAS-related cybersecurity verification and assessment procedures directly in Taiwan, effectively shortening the time-to-market for products and reducing verification costs.
Cheng Mei-ling pointed out that the Executive Yuan has instructed relevant ministries and agencies to study the establishment of an integrated inspection procedure mechanism for drones weighing 2 to 25 kilograms, covering flight safety, low-power radio frequency, and information security. This will be improved towards a single window and simplified process, reducing the overall administrative processing time to a reasonable range.
Cheng Mei-ling emphasized that the Executive Yuan aims to achieve the goal of a wholly non-red supply chain by 2027. Government agencies' use of drones should be prioritized and accelerated towards non-redification, and relevant procurement management mechanisms should be implemented. The Executive Yuan's Public Construction Commission has formulated and issued the "Procurement Operation Guidelines for Remote-Controlled Unmanned Aircraft," which include provisions for government agencies to specify in procurement contracts that companies with Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau capital are prohibited from participating in procurement, and that members of the execution team must not be individuals from China, Hong Kong, or Macau. At the same time, for drone components where domestic production capacity is insufficient, relevant ministries and agencies are requested to actively assist in development and support mass production to gradually achieve the goal of a wholly non-red supply chain. Additionally, to cope with the rapid advancement of drone technology, the procurement guidelines also include a mechanism for technological iteration.
Cheng Mei-ling stated that Taiwan's drone industry output value grew from NT$5 billion in 2024 to NT$12.9 billion in 2025, an overall increase of over 2.5 times. Among this, the export value of complete drones grew from NT$140 million in 2024 to NT$2.95 billion in 2025, an increase of 21 times. Furthermore, the export value of complete drones in the first quarter of this year has already exceeded the total for the entire previous year. When President Lai attended the "Taiwan Excellent Drone Overseas Business Alliance Gathering" on June 9th, he specifically instructed the Executive Yuan to comprehensively review and relax regulatory restrictions to create a favorable environment for drone development.
Cheng Mei-ling pointed out that in response to the rapid growth of the global unmanned vehicle industry and the trend of supply chain restructuring, the Executive Yuan will continue to expand the diverse applications and industrial output of drones, and strive to make Taiwan a key partner in the global democratic supply chain. In the future, it will also integrate key innovative applications such as next-generation communication and AI, and continuously revise relevant policies to promote the vigorous development of Taiwan's domestic drone industry.
She emphasized that the central government's general budget for this year has made overall plans for key technologies of unmanned vehicles, cybersecurity testing, legal system construction, improvement of testing environments, and industrial chain upgrading. Related projects require stable and sufficient budget support to help Taiwan build another key strategic industry beyond the semiconductor industry. It is hoped that the Legislative Yuan will expedite the review of the government's general budget for this year.
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=214994
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