Opposition delays review of Cabinet's NT$210 billion drone procurement bill

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) Taiwan's opposition parties on Friday voted to delay the review of a Cabinet-proposed special budget bill for drone procurement totaling NT$210 billion (US$6.6 billion), saying they plan to draft their own versions of the legislation.

A motion sponsored by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus to refer the bill to committee review was voted down by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP), which together hold a majority in the Legislative Yuan.

KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) said the party is drafting its own version of the bill and has yet to determine its overall size, including the scope of tax incentives for defense contractors.

Fu said the KMT expects to introduce its proposal next week, adding that the opposition parties "will likely" allow the Cabinet's bill to proceed to committee review alongside the KMT version.

TPP deputy caucus convener Wang An-hsiang (王安祥) said the party would also submit its own version of the bill, adding that all proposals will first be discussed in cross-caucus negotiations before advancing to a plenary session.

The Cabinet unveiled the bill on June 18 to restore funding for domestic drone procurement removed by opposition parties from a NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget bill last month.

• Cabinet proposes US$6.6 billion special budget for domestic drones

The opposition instead passed an alternative special budget bill with a spending cap of NT$780 billion that excluded funding for drones, unmanned surface vessels, joint command-and-control systems and TK-4 anti-ballistic missiles.

According to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), the government's latest special budget bill will fund the procurement of 1,446 coastal reconnaissance drones, 208,200 coastal attack drones and 1,320 unmanned surface vessels from August 2026 to the end of 2031.

The ministry said the funding would enable it to place large, long-term orders with domestic defense contractors, support innovation and help the industry keep pace with rapidly evolving drone technology.