TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Legislative Yuan will review four different versions of a drone procurement budget on Thursday, reports said Saturday.
Proposals submitted separately by the Cabinet, DPP Legislator Lin Chu-yin (林楚茵), the KMT, and the TPP will face discussion during a joint session of the Finance, Economics, and Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committees. After the opposition majority at the legislature removed drones from a special defense budget in May, the government issued a separate proposal to procure uncrewed aerial vehicles and ships.
The Economics Committee has decided to hold the first joint committee meeting on Thursday, CNA reported. The Cabinet version listed a special budget with a ceiling of NT$210 billion (US$6.54 billion) to spend from August until 2031. The government argued that a special budget was needed to provide the drone sector with stability.
The KMT proposed NT$240 billion spread over six years, but with NT$40 billion sourced from each year’s general budget. The TPP version also relied on the general budget, but without specifying a maximum. The amount spent on drones should depend on the government’s financial situation and respect budgetary discipline, the TPP said.
