TAIPEI — Taiwan is moving toward a more layered and technology-driven defense strategy as security threats rapidly evolve, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said Wednesday, highlighting lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the growing importance of drones, artificial intelligence and resilient infrastructure.
Speaking at the 2026 Taipei Security Dialogue, Hsiao said Taiwan needs defenses capable of adapting quickly as military technology and tactics change. Rather than relying on a single weapons system, she said, Taiwan must build multiple layers of protection supported by technology, trained personnel and the ability to keep operating under severe pressure.
The comments came on the same day that American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene warned that a conflict across the Taiwan Strait could have economic consequences greater than those of World War II and urged Taiwan to strengthen its ability to deter aggression.
Taiwan Looks to Ukraine and the Middle East for Lessons
Hsiao said Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine demonstrated the importance of multi-layered defenses and a rapid feedback loop that allows military planners to adjust technology and tactics as battlefield conditions change.
The conflict in the Middle East, meanwhile, has highlighted the need for cost-effective air-defense systems and counter-drone capabilities.
Those lessons are influencing Taiwan’s planned T-Dome air-defense architecture, which is intended to connect detection and interception capabilities across multiple layers.
According to Taipei Times reporting based on CNA, Hsiao said such a system would need to combine high-end and lower-cost sensors and interceptors, AI-assisted decision-making, trained operators and the ability to continue functioning even after suffering serious damage.
AI Could Become Part of Taiwan’s Defense Network
Hsiao also said artificial intelligence deserves further study for applications including intelligence analysis, target selection, interception and logistics.
That does not mean Taiwan is handing battlefield decisions entirely to AI. Instead, the emphasis is on using emerging technology to help human operators process information and respond more quickly.
The broader approach reflects Taiwan’s attempt to combine its strengths in semiconductors, information technology and precision manufacturing with national-defense requirements.
Hsiao said closer cooperation among military operators, researchers and private companies could help Taiwan develop technologies that are useful both for defense and civilian applications.
Drones Move to the Center of Taiwan’s Defense Plans
Unmanned systems are another major component of the strategy.
Hsiao said Taiwan’s proposed defense spending includes domestically produced coastal reconnaissance and attack drones as well as small unmanned attack vessels.
The Cabinet has proposed NT$145.7 billion (about US$4.63 billion) in additional defense spending, with NT$55.9 billion allocated to three unmanned-system programs, according to Focus Taiwan. The proposal still requires legislative review.
Taiwan is also pushing for what officials describe as “non-red” supply chains—meaning defense-related drone production should avoid dependence on Chinese components.
The goal is not simply to manufacture more drones, but to establish a supply chain that Taiwan can rely on during a prolonged security crisis.
TaiwanPlus previously reported that Hsiao had argued stronger drone capabilities were important to deterrence, warning that insufficient asymmetric defenses could lead Beijing to underestimate Taiwan’s willingness and ability to resist.
Defense Is More Than Weapons
Hsiao stressed that acquiring equipment alone does not create effective combat capability.
Personnel, training, system integration and the ability to maintain readiness are equally important.
That means Taiwan’s defense strategy increasingly encompasses the entire system—from sensors and communications to operators, logistics, industrial production and infrastructure.
The issue is particularly important because Taiwan’s geography and economy make resilience a national-security concern. Hsiao pointed to undersea communications cables as one example of infrastructure that requires protection because disruptions could affect financial transactions, businesses and public services.
Taiwan is also seeking greater maritime awareness through intelligence sharing, commercial satellite imagery, ship-tracking information and other publicly available data to identify potential coercive activity.
A Larger Defense Push Is Taking Shape
Hsiao’s comments come as Taiwan accelerates its broader defense buildup.
Reuters reported that Taiwan’s Cabinet recently proposed an additional NT$145.7 billion in defense spending, including funding for domestically developed missile systems, coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones and unmanned attack boats.
Separately, Taiwan’s legislature has approved a NT$240 billion, six-year drone-focused spending plan, reflecting the growing importance Taipei places on unmanned systems and domestic production.
The strategy is also being closely watched internationally.
Greene said the United States supports Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its self-defense capabilities and argued that deterrence does not require Taiwan to demonstrate that it could win a war outright. Instead, the objective is to make any attempt to seize Taiwan sufficiently difficult and costly that an adversary is deterred from trying.
The Real Test: Can Taiwan Stay Resilient Under Pressure?
Taiwan’s emerging defense model represents a shift away from relying on a limited number of expensive platforms toward a broader network of sensors, defensive systems, unmanned technologies, human expertise and resilient infrastructure.
But building that network is only part of the challenge.
Taiwan must also ensure that its systems can communicate with one another, that personnel are sufficiently trained, that domestic production can scale when needed and that critical infrastructure can continue functioning during a prolonged crisis.
That is why Hsiao’s message goes beyond weapons procurement.
Taiwan’s defense, she argues, must become a system that can absorb disruption, adapt to changing threats and keep functioning.
As military technology evolves—and as drones, AI and cyber capabilities increasingly shape modern conflicts—the question facing Taipei is no longer simply how much equipment it can acquire.
The bigger question is whether Taiwan can build a defense network resilient enough to keep adapting when the pressure is highest.
WWC ONE MEDIA G.A
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