Taiwan may be acquiring U.S.-built MQ-9 Reaper drones according to a U.S. State Department Congressional notification, a move which could massively improve Taiwan’s electronic eyes on vital areas of the Chinese coastline and waters between them and the mainland.

The National Interest
Date: December 9, 2020
By: Kris Osborn

Given China’s consistent insistence upon preparing for an amphibious assault on Taiwan with drills and combat preparation operations in waters nearby, and the Chinese government’s escalating language about possible forcible reunification with the island, it comes as no surprise that the United States is authorizing the sale of MQ-9 Reaper drones to the country. 

Taiwan may be acquiring U.S.-built MQ-9 Reaper drones according to a U.S. State Department Congressional notification, a move which could massively improve Taiwan’s electronic eyes on vital areas of the Chinese coastline and waters between them and the mainland. The proposed sale is in part due to an interesting policy shift regarding the export of drones to foreign allies which increased the volume and ease with which the United States can offer unmanned systems to partners around the globe. 

“Most partners who are seeking it, and two that you just mentioned, are looking at it from a maritime domain awareness, border integrity, border-protection capability.  It's not a strategic tool, it's a tactical operational tool,” Clarke Cooper, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs told reporters, according to a Pentagon transcript.

In July of 2020, the Trump administration updated the United States policy on the export of unmanned aerial systems, Cooper explained.     [FULL  STORY]