US-China Drone Regulation War Intensifies... Preparing for Taiwan Conflict? [AK Radio]

US Bureau of Industry and Security Reviews Chinese Drone Regulations
Chinese Production Capacity VS US Technological Strength... Intensifying Arms Race

The United States has begun full-scale regulation of Chinese-made drones. On the 2nd, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security announced the start of a regulatory review to address national security risks arising from transactions involving essential information and communication technologies and services (ICTs) for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The regulation targets UAV ICTs designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by individuals and companies owned, controlled, directed, or subject to the jurisdiction of hostile governments. Although six countries?China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela?are designated as hostile nations under federal regulations, the Bureau of Industry and Security clarified that the primary targets of this regulation are China and Russia.

This regulation is interpreted as a measure to curb China’s influence, which dominates the global drone market. Last year, the global drone market size reached approximately $35 billion (about 50 trillion KRW), with China holding an overwhelming 75% market share. In particular, Chinese company DJI (Dachangxin) leads the market by monopolizing not only finished drone products but also key components such as batteries, propellers, small cameras, and infrared sensors.

There are suspicions that DJI’s rapid growth is backed by full support from the Chinese government. DJI’s founder Wang Tao, born in 1980, is known for a so-called “success myth” of establishing the company with the support of a robotics professor during his studies at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. However, despite the company’s rapid growth, it has maintained an unlisted status and has an opaque governance structure, raising ongoing concerns about deep ties with the Chinese government. Notably, Wang Tao is from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province?like Alibaba’s Jack Ma?and is known to have close relations with the Chinese Communist Party.

The image shows a drone launched by Russian forces last August along the Luhansk front in Ukraine. It is a modified drone originally manufactured by the Chinese drone company DJI. Photo by TASS and Yonhap News.

National security threats have also played a role in the U.S.’s strengthened regulations. Incidents such as Chinese students illegally filming a U.S. aircraft carrier that docked at Busan Port last July with drones, as well as frequent attempts by Chinese nationals to film major U.S. military facilities with drones, have been reported. These are widely analyzed as part of China’s “gray zone strategy,” involving intelligence-gathering activities disguised as civilian actions. Particularly, since most individuals eligible for U.S. study or business visas in China are Communist Party members, these suspicions have deepened.

The war in Ukraine has clearly demonstrated that drones have emerged as a key weapon in modern warfare. Despite Ukraine’s absolute naval inferiority, it effectively used drones to inflict significant damage on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Just before the war, Ukraine had lost major naval bases due to the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and possessed only about 20 patrol boats. However, by using maritime drones, Ukraine succeeded in sinking 25 out of over 70 Russian destroyers. The tactic of operating hundreds of drones simultaneously proved highly effective, highlighting drones as a low-cost, high-efficiency weapon system compared to traditional missiles.

Notably, drone usage is showing an all-encompassing pattern across land, sea, and air. Drones have evolved into various forms, including aerial, maritime, and ground drones, significantly changing the nature of modern warfare. In particular, many cases in the Ukraine war involved converting civilian drones for military use, indicating a blurring of the lines between civilian and military drone applications.

On the 14th of last month (local time), a soldier deployed to the eastern front of Ukraine is inspecting a drone before launching it. Photo by EPA and Yonhap News.

Experts predict that the core of future drone warfare will expand to attacks on communication networks. Disabling the communication networks necessary for drone control is more effective than shooting down the drones themselves. This could severely impact civilian communication networks, causing major disruptions in civilians’ access to information and evacuation during wartime. In modern society, communication networks serve as lifelines beyond mere information transmission, making international cooperation to protect these networks urgently necessary.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s drone technology is ranked among the world’s top seven. In particular, in response to the threat of low-cost North Korean drones, South Korea has developed and deployed high-performance drones capable of directional changes and manipulation. Defense contractors and aerospace companies are focusing on developing surveillance and reconnaissance drones in cooperation with the Air Force, showing notable progress in developing stealth drones that are difficult to detect by radar.

The advancement of drone technology presents a new paradigm in military power. However, it also raises new forms of security threats and ethical issues. As the risks of intelligence gathering and military conflicts using drones increase, the international community is grappling with establishing new norms for the peaceful use and safe management of drone technology. The U.S.’s recent regulation is expected to mark the starting point of a reorganization of the international order surrounding drone technology.

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