DSET welcomed Mr. Christopher B. Johnstone, former Director for East Asia at the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), for an in-depth exchange on key national security issues.
Mr. Johnstone currently serves as Partner and Chair of Defense and National Security Practice at The Asia Group. Prior to this role, he was Deputy Director and Senior Fellow with the Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). With a 25-year career in the U.S. government, Mr. Johnstone has focused extensively on U.S. policy toward Japan and the Indo-Pacific. H.
e served twice at the NSC, most recently under President Biden as Director for East Asia, and earlier under President Obama as Director for Japan and Oceania. From 2017 to 2021, he led the Office for South and Southeast Asia at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and also held roles overseeing Northeast Asia policy, including U.S.-Japan alliance strategy.
During the meeting, DSET shared its forthcoming report on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and discussed the potential for expanding U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in this critical sector. The dialogue also included broader exchanges on defense policy alignment between the U.S. and Taiwan.
Mr. Johnstone noted that despite fluctuations in trade and tariff policy, the U.S. Department of Defense under the Trump administration demonstrated strong continuity in Indo-Pacific strategy, maintaining the preservation of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait as a top priority and reinforcing shared defense responsibilities with allies such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
Both sides agreed that deeper U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in the drone sector is a key element in enhancing Taiwan’s asymmetric defense capabilities. DSET’s report observes that while U.S.-Taiwan collaboration on drones is expanding, it remains at an early stage. Taiwanese drones have yet to be procured by the U.S. federal government or included in the Department of Defense’s Blue UAS or industry-led Green UAS certification lists. Initial cooperation has begun at the subsystem level, but prospects for joint development or co-production of drone platforms remain uncertain.
Mr. Johnstone emphasized that under the Biden administration, joint development and co-production of weapons systems with allies has been a strategic priority. He also noted that with key national security appointments still pending under the current Trump campaign, future policy directions remain to be seen. Nonetheless, he concurred that U.S. defense industrial capacity alone is insufficient to meet the urgent needs of allied partners, making collaboration with Taiwan on co-production a necessary avenue to explore.
DSET’s upcoming report, to be published in June, features interviews with leading Taiwanese drone manufacturers, government officials, and U.S. industry representatives. It will provide actionable recommendations for future industrial cooperation. Building on this research, DSET will continue to engage with stakeholders across U.S. government, industry, and academia to advance U.S.-Taiwan collaboration in the drone sector.
