Overview
- Raymond Greene, the U.S. top diplomat to Taiwan, urged the island on Thursday to deploy swarms of air, surface and subsurface drones as a cost‑effective way to deter a Chinese attack.
- Taiwan’s government has proposed a T$210 billion package to buy surveillance systems, coastal attack tools and small unmanned surface drones through 2031 to build those asymmetric defenses.
- The main opposition KMT has offered an alternative T$240 billion plan that would fund drones from the main budget with annual caps, creating a political standoff over procurement and oversight.
- Budget cuts approved by parliament in May and reported shortfalls in domestic production have left Taiwan’s drone inventory below target levels and complicate rapid scaling.
- U.S. support and lessons from Ukraine shape the push for drones, and the debate now affects Taiwan’s industrial planning, procurement path, and the island’s broader deterrence posture.