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William Lai Ching-te seeks to pass a NT$210 billion special budget to bolster Taiwan's military drone capabilities.

President William Lai Ching-te is pushing for the approval of a NT$210 billion (US$6.6 billion) special budget to procure approximately 210,000 new military drones over a six-year period. The administration announced the plan aims to build asymmetric combat capabilities to counter the threat from China, which has not renounced the use of force to annex the island. President William Lai Ching-te emphasized that the drones are urgently needed to turn any conflict zone into a "hellscape" for the Chinese military, citing the importance of uncrewed weapons in modern warfare. However, the opposition-led legislature is currently debating competing proposals. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) have proposed a different model, suggesting an annual spending cap of NT$40 billion overseen by the Ministry of Economic Affairs rather than the Ministry of National Defense. Defense Minister Wellington Koo argued that the annual cap would be insufficient to meet the ministry's needs. The legislature is expected to vote on the competing plans on Thursday, with lawmakers returning to their districts to inspect flood damage caused by Typhoon Saudel.

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