US, Taiwan, Japan To Exchange Real-Time Data From Naval Drones - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2023) The United States, Taiwan and Japan plan to exchange real-time data from naval reconnaissance drones to get an overall picture in case of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the project.

US defense corporation General Atomics will supply four MQ-9 Sea Guardian reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to Taiwan after 2025, the report said. The drones are able to track and target vessels and radars.

The UAVs will also provide a real-time picture of the movements of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in the island chain, which stretches from Japan to the Philippines, the newspaper reported.

"The sharing of data between Japan and Taiwan, between Taiwan and the Philippines, between the US and all three of them, is so crucial, but it's also one of the big taboos because China will see it as escalatory," a senior US military official was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

Washington will also allow the integration of its aircraft into the same system that the US and Japanese forces are set to use in the region, the report said.

The situation around Taiwan escalated again after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in April, with Beijing launching massive three-day military drills near the island in what it called a "warning" to Taiwanese separatists and foreign powers.

Taiwan has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949. Beijing considers the island a province of China, while Taiwan says it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official foreign contacts with Taipei and regards Chinese sovereignty over the island as indisputable.