Taipei: Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey urged Taiwan to expand weapons production for export and ease regulatory barriers, emphasizing that overseas demand could help sustain the local defense industry necessary for long-term deterrence.According to Focus Taiwan, Luckey stressed that if Taiwan eased restrictions, it could become "the largest firearms accessories manufacturing base in the whole world." In a joint interview with three media outlets, including CNA, following his keynote speech at an international forum, Luckey highlighted Taiwan's globally dominant airsoft sector, encouraging local firms to adapt their accessories for use with real firearms. However, he noted that many manufacturers face regulatory hurdles that make the transition slow and costly, underscoring the need for improved export rules to capitalize on Taiwan's industrial strengths.Responding to inquiries about potential collaborations between U.S. companies and Taiwanese partners in defense production, Luckey mentioned And uril's experience with Taiwan's defense industry and government. Although Anduril does not have a factory in Taiwan, it collaborates with numerous Taiwanese vendors that mass-produce components for its products. Luckey emphasized the importance of Taiwan designing and manufacturing its own weapon systems at scale, suggesting that arrangements like "designed in the U.S., made in Taiwan" or "designed collaboratively and made in Taiwan" would be beneficial.In his keynote speech at the second Resilient Taiwan for Sustainable Democracy International Forum, Luckey urged Taiwan to leverage its existing industrial strengths to design and mass-produce weapon systems, transforming its manufacturing expertise into defense capabilities that could ensure long-term deterrence. He cited Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) as a model for the role Taiwan could play in defense exports, advocating for the sale of advanced capabilities to countries sharing Taiwan's commitment to freedom.Luckey pointed out that Taiw an already possesses many of the technologies needed to withstand adversaries, drawing upon strengths in the consumer, industrial, and enterprise sectors. He cautioned that democracies often wait until threats become undeniable, only to find that factories and skilled workers cannot be created on demand. To prevent this, he urged Taiwan to make production lines adaptable for weapons manufacturing at larger scales.In a discussion with National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan, Luckey expressed confidence in Taiwan's potential as a credible defense supplier, despite doubts about its reliability under threat from China. He highlighted Taiwan's capabilities in semiconductors, machine tools, precision components, and advanced composites, along with its robust industrial base. Luckey warned that Taiwan's domestic demand alone would not suffice to sustain the industrial base needed for what he described as an unstoppable level of deterrence, urging Taiwan to focus on exports from the outset to serve global partners and fulfill national defense needs.