European experts and Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff pose for a group photo onstage at a forum in Taipei on Tuesday.
Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) European experts on Tuesday called for closer cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) and drones between Europe and Taiwan at a Taipei forum aimed at promoting trusted technologies on a bilateral basis and avoiding overdependence on China.
On drone cooperation, John Hemmings, director of the National Security Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, a United Kingdom-based foreign policy and security think tank, said Europe and Taiwan should work more closely to pave the way for cooperation on drones with supply chains free of Chinese components.
Once both sides have broadly agreed on what constitutes a "red-free supply chain model," they should develop a list of certified suppliers and then establish a policy-oriented drone supply chain office to draft reciprocal testing and evaluation protocols, he said.
"And finally, let's go. We're in active urgency," Hemmings said, urging both sides to act quickly.
"The Russians and the Chinese are already cooperating on their technology. They're not waiting for this," he said.
Meanwhile, Antonio Calcara, who leads the technology and economic statecraft program at the Center for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Belgium, called on both sides to combine their respective strengths to boost cooperation on AI.
Europe is known for its industrial engineering and research and development capabilities, as well as its potentially huge AI market, Calcara said.
Taiwan, meanwhile, produces some of the world's most advanced semiconductors and the servers needed to power advanced AI models, he said.
He also said he believed photonics is the most promising area for specialization and collaboration between Taiwan and Europe.
The two speakers made their remarks at the half-day "Trusted Technology Forum for Democracies," co-organized by Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Formosa Club, a network connecting pro-Taiwan parliamentarians across Europe.
Speaking at the forum's opening ceremony, Rihards Kols, a member of the European Parliament from the National Alliance and acting chair of the Formosa Club, which is also holding its annual conference in Taipei, said Europe had learned an expensive lesson about dependence.
"For too long, we treated Russian energy as a commercial matter and dismissed the warnings about political leverage. We cannot afford to repeat the same mistake with the technologies running our factories, communications, and defense systems," Kols said.
"The same practical approach should guide our work on drones," he said.
Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression has shown how quickly designs change and how much depends on getting equipment produced, repaired, and packaged for use, Kols said.
"Trusted technology is a good title for this forum. We have to earn the word trusted," he said.
The European Parliament has called for better market access, greater certainty for investors and closer cooperation with Taiwan on critical technologies, Kols said.
"That matters to the companies considering an investment, a researcher looking for an industrial partner, or a manufacturer seeking a reliable supplier. Forums like these help those relationships begin," he said.
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