TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Tuesday that Taiwan’s Army will form a drone squadron in July, as he pledged to keep seeking defense funding after lawmakers reduced a proposed special defense budget.
Speaking during a visit to the Guandu Area Command in northern Taiwan, Lai said Taiwan must use technology, improve training, and build more flexible defenses. He had earlier visited radar units on Yangmingshan and at Songshan.
The president pointed to the ALTIUS-600M attack drone as an example of the military’s progress. The US-made weapon is a small unmanned aircraft that can fly over an area, track a target, and strike it.
The Military News Agency reported that the ALTIUS-600M reached a 100% hit rate during sea-target drills on June 3. Taiwan has received all 291 ALTIUS-600M drones it bought from the US.
Lai said drones are part of Taiwan’s asymmetric defense strategy, which uses smaller, mobile, and lower-cost weapons to make Taiwan harder to attack.
Lai also addressed a defense budget dispute with the Legislature. Opposition parties control a majority in the Legislature and reduced the government’s proposed special defense spending plan.
The Legislature passed a defense bill in May approving NT$780 billion (US$24.8 billion) over eight years. The amount was 38% lower than the Cabinet’s original NT$1.25 trillion proposal.
Lai said the government “will not give up” on defense spending. He said it may submit a new special bill, use supplementary budgets, or raise annual government budgets to support the military.
The president said the money is needed to keep military equipment purchases and defense infrastructure projects on track. He said Taiwan must continue building a stronger defense system to meet growing threats.
