TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) inspected drones during a tour of the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taichung on Friday.
The weapons maker showed off anti-radiation attack drones used to track and destroy enemy radar systems, per UDN. During the visit, he slammed the opposition’s move to cut drones from a special defense budget.
The KMT-TPP majority at the Legislative Yuan voted for a defense budget in May that did not include drones. As a result, the government submitted a separate six-year NT$210 billion (US$6.54 billion) budget to procure Taiwan-made uncrewed vehicle systems.
The legislature is currently considering the Cabinet proposal, but also separate KMT and TPP versions. The KMT wants to spend NT$240 billion spread over six years, but with NT$40 billion sourced from each year’s general budget. The TPP version also relies on the general budget, but without specifying a maximum amount.
Lai said Friday the government will list between NT$200 billion and NT$300 billion in additional budgets and in next year’s defense budget to make up for the NT$470 billion cut by the opposition, UDN reported.
The president also condemned opposition plans to put the Ministry of Economic Affairs in charge of drone procurement instead of the Ministry of National Defense. The opposition proposals did not meet the country’s defense needs, Lai said.
