Taipei: Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim has expressed concerns about critical aspects of military drone procurement bills proposed by opposition lawmakers, arguing that the shortcomings could negatively impact the industry and Taiwan's defense readiness.
According to Focus Taiwan, fourteen different versions of the bill are anticipated to be voted on in the opposition-controlled Legislature by the end of this month following the collapse of cross-caucus negotiations last week. The key issues at the heart of the debate are the funding mechanism for drone procurement and the agency responsible for overseeing the project.
The Cabinet's proposal allocates NT$210 billion in a special budget from August 2026 to the end of 2031. In contrast, the main opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT), has proposed a NT$240 billion budget to be drawn from the general budget over six years, with an annual spending limit of NT$40 billion.