Legislature to vote on competing drone procurement bills Thursday

Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) The ruling and opposition legislative caucuses on Wednesday agreed to move up a vote on competing drone procurement bills to Thursday to allow lawmakers to return to their districts to inspect damage caused by recent flooding in southern Taiwan.

Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) proposed bringing forward the vote, originally scheduled for Friday, during cross-caucus talks on the bills, citing the flooding and Typhoon Saudel, which is expected to pass north of Taiwan and head toward China over the next two days.

The conveners of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) caucuses agreed to the proposal.

Meanwhile, the three caucuses failed to agree on key aspects of the bills, including which ministry will oversee the drone procurement program, the budget for drone procurement and whether annual spending caps will be imposed.

The Cabinet's proposal would earmark NT$210 billion (US$6.6 billion) in a special budget from August 2026 through the end of 2031 and would designate the Ministry of National Defense (MND) as the competent authority for drone procurement.

The main opposition KMT proposes earmarking NT$240 billion in the general budget over six years, with an annual spending cap of NT$40 billion, and placing the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in charge of the spending plan.

The KMT argues that supporting drone manufacturers, importing key technologies, conducting cybersecurity reviews and planning drone testing sites fall within the MOEA's remit.

The smaller opposition TPP's plan, meanwhile, would designate both the MND and MOEA as competent authorities and would fund drone procurement through the general budget, with no annual spending limits.

At Wednesday's meeting, Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said the KMT's bill was too broad in scope and that funding may be dispersed beyond the three types of unmanned systems -- coastal reconnaissance drones, coastal attack drones and small suicide unmanned surface vessels -- for which the MND has requested funding through the Cabinet's proposed special budget.

In addition to the three types of drones, the MND has requested funding to buy other models costing NT$31.1 billion under the 2027 general budget, Koo said.

"The fact of the matter is that NT$40 billion a year would not be enough," Koo said.

DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) also said that the KMT and TPP's bills do not specify the three types of unmanned systems the MND has requested, calling on the opposition party caucuses to take the ministry's needs into account.

However, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) said that because drone technology evolves quickly, drone procurement should be phased to prevent the systems from becoming "out of date" by the time they are delivered to the MND.

Lai argued that annual allocations are therefore more appropriate, adding that any funding shortfalls can be covered by a supplementary budget.

With the caucuses unable to agree on the key provisions, Han ruled that lawmakers would consider the competing bills during a plenary session Thursday morning.