Taiwan teams up with US start-up on underwater drones to boost island’s defences

Taiwan has signed a deal with US defence start-up Vatn Systems to develop autonomous underwater vehicles and strengthen its asymmetric warfare capabilities amid growing military pressure from Beijing.

Executed through the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) – Taiwan’s government-funded top weapons developer – the agreement marks the latest in a series of moves to expand the island’s unmanned underwater capabilities.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed last...