Taiwan’s parliament approved a nearly $7.6 billion plan Thursday to expand the island’s military drone and other unmanned systems as it prepares for a potential Chinese attack.
Communist-ruled China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to use force if necessary to bring the island under its control. Taiwan maintains that its future can be decided only by its roughly 23 million people.
The plan backed by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) passed after lawmakers rejected a competing proposal from President Lai Ching-te’s government.
Lai’s administration had sought a special budget of up to 210 billion New Taiwan (NT) dollars ($6.6 billion) through 2031 to acquire about 210,000 military drones and other unmanned systems.
TAIWAN DRONE SPENDING
The opposition-backed measure instead provides NT$240 billion ($7.56 billion) over six years through Taiwan’s regular annual budgets, with annual spending set at NT$40 billion in principle.
Taiwan’s government and opposition agree that the island needs to expand domestic production and reduce its reliance on Chinese components, but they have repeatedly clashed over the size and structure of defense spending.
“As we promote the development of the drone industry, we must genuinely encourage localization and domestic production,” KMT lawmaker Hsu Chiao-hsin said before the vote.
“We need to support reputable manufacturers that can deliver non-red [non-Chinese] supply chains, ensure a certain level of cybersecurity and maintain stable growth.”
TAIWAN BOOSTS DEFENSE INDUSTRY
Taiwan is also seeking to increase its ability to manufacture weapons and ammunition during a war.
Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan “urgently needs to build up drone and counter-drone capabilities” to respond to China’s so-called gray-zone activities—coercive actions below the threshold of open warfare—as well as potential military threats.
“We must not allow the regime in Beijing to miscalculate Taiwan’s determination to defend itself,” Hsiao stressed in published remarks.
Taiwan has closely watched drone-backed wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and wants to use similar and more mobile weapons as part of its arsenal to confront China’s much larger military if necessary.
LESSONS FROM DRONE WARS
Drones can be used for surveillance, targeting and attacks and are increasingly important to Taiwan’s asymmetric defense strategy, aimed at making a Chinese invasion difficult and costly.
Thursday’s announced spending also comes as Taiwan remains heavily dependent on U.S. weapons and after Washington urged the island to spend more on its own defense.
The drone plan is part of a broader defense buildup rather than a replacement for Taiwan’s regular military budget.
Lai’s government has proposed record overall defense spending of NT$1.1225 trillion ($35.3 billion) for 2027, equivalent to just over 3 percent of gross domestic product.
The stepped-up military production comes as China continues army exercises and other operations around Taiwan, increasing pressure on the self-governing island.
