Overview
- Parliament voted on Thursday to reject President Lai’s proposed six‑year special appropriation of NT$210 billion and instead approved an opposition plan that programs roughly NT$240 billion over six years through annual allocations.
- The enacted measure sets a principle annual floor of NT$40 billion for drone spending and assigns the Ministry of Economic Affairs joint implementation oversight with the Ministry of National Defense.
- Defence officials warned the NT$40 billion cap could constrain planned 2027 purchases, noting the ministry had slated NT$42.1 billion for drone procurement that year, and the premier said the government will carefully review whether the law meets national security needs.
- Lawmakers’ package emphasizes domestic production and creating trusted, non‑Chinese supply chains for low‑cost, high‑performance unmanned systems across air, sea, land and underwater roles.
- Analysts and officials say the debate now shifts to sustainment: Taiwan must prove it can keep production and spare‑parts flows running under attack, and Washington has urged Taipei to pass comprehensive defence funding while Beijing condemned the vote.