U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Chair Randall Schriver said a proposed uncrewed defense around Taiwan has not been fully built out despite legislation on funding and cooperation, Focus Taiwan reported.
At a Taipei forum Tuesday, Schriver described the “hellscape” concept as aspirational. Producing the systems would have to be matched by work on how to use them, he said, calling for a “sense of urgency,” according to Focus Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Act on Strengthening Defense Autonomy and Uncrewed Vehicle Industry Development sets a six-year NT$240 billion funding framework, with NT$40 billion a year as the principle. The central government must seek the money through annual budget procedures. Promulgated Sept. 11, the funding provision took effect immediately; most of the law’s other provisions take effect six months later.
The law aims to draw domestic technology and manufacturing capacity into the uncrewed vehicle industry and build trusted supply chains.
In the United States, Section 1266 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 required the defense secretary, by March 1, to seek to engage appropriate Taiwan officials in a joint program for uncrewed and counter-uncrewed systems. The provision includes joint development and production among the proposed activities.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo described the strategy in a 2024 interview with The Washington Post. He envisioned thousands of systems operating in the air, on the water and beneath the Taiwan Strait to slow an attack and give Taiwan and its partners time to respond.
Focus Taiwan reported that Schriver also warned U.S. shortages of munitions and other capabilities could persist beyond 2027. Citing the U.S.-Iran conflict, he pointed to an “aircraft carrier gap” after the USS Abraham Lincoln was relieved following a lengthy Middle East deployment.
Then-CIA Director William Burns said in 2023 that U.S. intelligence assessed Chinese President Xi Jinping had instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Burns stressed that readiness did not mean an invasion was inevitable or imminent.
Taiwan’s funding remains subject to annual budgets. The U.S. law requires a congressional briefing within 180 days of enactment and further briefings each year through 2029.
