Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—partnered with U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and John Curtis (R-UT) to introduce bipartisan legislation that expands cooperation between the United States and Taiwan on the development of unmanned arial systems (UAS) in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s increasing pressure on Taiwan and the PRC’s dominance in the UAS supply chain.
The Blue Skies for Taiwan Act promotes the development, production, and deployment of secure, resilient UAS to enhance American national security and support the defense and resilience of Taiwan, a longstanding and vital democratic partner for the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Our longstanding partnership with Taiwan demands the United States use all the tools at our disposal to strengthen Taiwan’s security and counter China’s coercive tactics,” said Merkley. “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. As Beijing escalates its pressure campaign, American support for Taiwan will remain ironclad.”
“The Chinese Communist Party expends countless resources to erode the status of our Taiwanese allies and isolate them globally. This legislation will modernize the development and production of unmanned aerial system supply chains, strengthen supply chain integration, and deepen U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation. It also importantly expands opportunities for collaboration on Blue UAS, including efforts like the Advanced Automation Manufacturing project at Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas. I’m proud to join Senator Merkley in introducing this bill,” said Cruz.
“Drones are becoming increasingly central to defense systems worldwide — and the United States and our partners are unprepared to produce them at the necessary scale,” said Kim. “Making matters worse, the majority of commercially available UAS technology relies on components sourced from China, leaving the U.S. and partners like Taiwan vulnerable to supply chain manipulation. Supporting Taiwan’s UAS manufacturing through this legislation is how we close that gap and secure long-term stability for ourselves and our partners.”
“Strengthening our partnership with Taiwan is critical to advancing both American security and the stability of the Indo-Pacific,” said Curtis. “Our bipartisan legislation expands cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan to build secure, resilient drone systems—cutting China out of the supply chain and reinforcing deterrence in the region.”
The vast majority of commercially available UAS contain PRC-sourced components, creating significant cybersecurity, supply chain, and operational risks for both Taiwan and the United States. Taiwan is well-positioned to develop and produce UAS components and systems. This bill will identify roadblocks and expand opportunities for the United States and Taiwan to create PRC-independent drone systems and components to supply both Taiwan and U.S. defenses.
The bipartisan Blue Skies for Taiwan Act would tackle these challenges by:
- Establishing a Blue UAS Working Group, led by the Departments of State and Defense, to assess Taiwan’s drone production capacity and identify opportunities and impediments to incorporating Taiwan-manufactured UAS and components in the Defense Contract Management Agency’s Blue UAS program and associated lists.
- The Blue UAS program is a DOD initiative that vets and certifies secure drone systems and components that do not rely on PRC technology or supply chains.
- Directing the establishment of a cooperative framework with regional allies to support secure, PRC-independent drone supply chains and expand opportunities for Taiwan’s drone industry.
- Instructing the Departments of State and Defense to develop a fast-track certification process for Taiwan drone and drone component manufacturers.
Full text of the Blue Skies for Taiwan Act can be found by clicking here.
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