The Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) recently hosted a delegation from the Next Generation National Security Leaders Program (NextGen) of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), led by Ely Ratner, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. . The program serves as a key platform for cultivating future leaders in U.S. defense and foreign policy, and the delegation comprised policy professionals with substantial practical experience.
Both sides exchanged views on a range of issues, including the unmanned systems industry, economic security, energy resilience, and artificial intelligence (AI) governance, and explored opportunities for Taiwan–U.S. cooperation in addressing emerging technologies and geopolitical challenges.
On unmanned systems and defense innovation, DSET’s National Security Team noted that Taiwan is actively advancing the development of its drone industry, with the goal of becoming a regional hub for unmanned systems manufacturing and R&D in Asia. However, several challenges remain, including production costs that are two to three times higher than those in China, and continued reliance on Chinese supply chains for key components such as batteries, motors, and rare earth magnets. In addition, Taiwan faces gaps in AI-enabled drone operation software, highlighting the need for closer collaboration with U.S. firms.
On military applications, participants discussed areas for improvement in Taiwan’s drone-related doctrine, personnel training, joint operations across services, and interoperability with allied forces.
Regarding economic security and semiconductor monitoring, DSET CEO Dr. Jeremy Chang shared research findings indicating that China is leveraging offshore data centers in locations such as Malaysia and Singapore to circumvent export controls on advanced GPUs and remotely access computing power. He also noted that locally driven industrial ecosystems within China—such as those in Shenzhen and Shanghai—are characterized by heavy subsidies and intense competition, leading to overcapacity that crowds out international competitors.
On energy security, DSET’s Polucy Analyst Angela Glowacki from Energy Resilience Team highlighted its research on Taiwan’s energy supply capabilities under extreme scenarios. Participants suggested that Taiwan increase the proportion of domestically controlled liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to mitigate risks during contingencies. They also discussed the role of government-backed reinsurance mechanisms in ensuring the continuity of trade and energy transportation during emergencies.
On democratic governance and AI, both sides expressed concern over China’s use of AI technologies for cognitive warfare and disinformation targeting democratic societies. Mr. Kai-Shen Huang, Head of DSET’s Democratic Governance Team, shared updates on Taiwan’s development of traditional Chinese large language model, which aims to build a secure and trustworthy AI system grounded in Taiwan’s local context to strengthen democratic resilience.
