To Counter Illegal Incursions by Chinese Small Boats, Taiwan's Military to Deploy Drones and AI for Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense announced plans to deploy drones and AI technology to enhance surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities against illegal incursions by Chinese small boats. The Ministry will integrate radar, electronic reconnaissance, drones, and AI to establish a multi-layered alert system, especially to improve the detection and identification of small targets. These systems will be procured under a special budget for "strengthening defense resilience and asymmetric warfare capabilities."
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- 📰 Published: April 10, 2026 at 20:42
- 🔍 Collected: April 10, 2026 at 21:00 (18 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 15, 2026 at 18:58 (117h 57m after Collected)
The Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the 13th invited National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen, Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ocean Affairs Council to report on "Review of Surveillance Gaps, Progress of Technology Surveillance Equipment Deployment, and Improvement Measures for Recent Illegal Incursions by Chinese Small Vessels into Our Territorial Waters." The Ministry of National Defense's written report was delivered to legislators' offices today.
The Ministry of National Defense stated that the national military's primary mission is to defend national security. In response to illegal incursions by Chinese naval vessels, the Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) jointly uphold sovereignty as a principle and provide support based on CGA needs and the "Maritime Mission Comprehensive Support Agreement."
The Ministry of National Defense stated that the Navy continuously monitors the movements of Chinese naval vessels using existing surveillance methods and notifies the CGA Fleet Branch Command Center for handling according to existing mechanisms. Additionally, through the Navy's "Liancheng System" and the CGA's "Radar Information Display System," it shares maritime vessel intelligence and dynamics with the CGA to jointly monitor maritime activities.
Regarding mission support, the Ministry of National Defense stated that non-military Chinese vessels are primarily handled by the CGA. When the CGA requests support, the Navy provides support according to orders, based on the time, location, vessel characteristics, and encountered situation reported by the CGA.
Regarding the military's actions in peacetime and wartime, the Ministry of National Defense stated that in peacetime, for single small vessels illegally entering territorial waters, the CGA's "Coastal Radar System" is used to track their location and activities, and the CGA handles the situation. In wartime, for various types of vessels targeting Taiwan, in addition to using radar, electronic reconnaissance, and open-source intelligence, the CGA's "Coastal Radar System" will be combined with various long, medium, and short-range surveillance drones to be deployed in the future, along with other forces, to establish a multi-layered alert screen, monitor fleet movements, and respond appropriately.
The Ministry of National Defense further pointed out that the current military has difficulty tracking small targets and identifying them in real-time. In the future, it will integrate multiple surveillance methods, including radar, telecommunications, imagery, and open-source intelligence, combined with AI technology analysis, to instantly detect abnormal activities, establish early warning and re-verification mechanisms, shifting from passive monitoring to proactive early warning, identifying potentially risky abnormal activities early, reducing long-term manual monitoring and repeated interpretation, and improving response efficiency.
The Ministry of National Defense finally stated that the future deployment of various surveillance drones and AI decision-making assistance systems are planned for procurement under the "Special Budget for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities" to facilitate the overall enhancement of surveillance capabilities. (Edited by Lin Hsing-meng) 1150410
The Ministry of National Defense stated that the national military's primary mission is to defend national security. In response to illegal incursions by Chinese naval vessels, the Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) jointly uphold sovereignty as a principle and provide support based on CGA needs and the "Maritime Mission Comprehensive Support Agreement."
The Ministry of National Defense stated that the Navy continuously monitors the movements of Chinese naval vessels using existing surveillance methods and notifies the CGA Fleet Branch Command Center for handling according to existing mechanisms. Additionally, through the Navy's "Liancheng System" and the CGA's "Radar Information Display System," it shares maritime vessel intelligence and dynamics with the CGA to jointly monitor maritime activities.
Regarding mission support, the Ministry of National Defense stated that non-military Chinese vessels are primarily handled by the CGA. When the CGA requests support, the Navy provides support according to orders, based on the time, location, vessel characteristics, and encountered situation reported by the CGA.
Regarding the military's actions in peacetime and wartime, the Ministry of National Defense stated that in peacetime, for single small vessels illegally entering territorial waters, the CGA's "Coastal Radar System" is used to track their location and activities, and the CGA handles the situation. In wartime, for various types of vessels targeting Taiwan, in addition to using radar, electronic reconnaissance, and open-source intelligence, the CGA's "Coastal Radar System" will be combined with various long, medium, and short-range surveillance drones to be deployed in the future, along with other forces, to establish a multi-layered alert screen, monitor fleet movements, and respond appropriately.
The Ministry of National Defense further pointed out that the current military has difficulty tracking small targets and identifying them in real-time. In the future, it will integrate multiple surveillance methods, including radar, telecommunications, imagery, and open-source intelligence, combined with AI technology analysis, to instantly detect abnormal activities, establish early warning and re-verification mechanisms, shifting from passive monitoring to proactive early warning, identifying potentially risky abnormal activities early, reducing long-term manual monitoring and repeated interpretation, and improving response efficiency.
The Ministry of National Defense finally stated that the future deployment of various surveillance drones and AI decision-making assistance systems are planned for procurement under the "Special Budget for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capabilities" to facilitate the overall enhancement of surveillance capabilities. (Edited by Lin Hsing-meng) 1150410