The opposition also wants to boost the island’s military drone sector, but through budgets that allow for greater scrutiny
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenLawrence Chungin TaipeiPublished: 10:00pm, 29 Jun 2026After rejecting a government spending package, Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has submitted its own proposal worth several billion dollars more to boost the military’s unmanned vehicle capabilities and the island’s broader drone sector.The move reflects growing consensus across Taiwan’s political spectrum that unmanned systems will be central to the island’s defence in the future.
Defending its decision to reject the government’s proposal for the sector, KMT officials on Monday said the party disagreed with the cabinet over how the programme should be funded, managed and integrated with broader industrial policy.
The party’s lawmakers said their budget – which was submitted to the legislature on Monday – would allocate up to NT$240 billion (US$7.5 billion) over six years through the regular annual budget, compared with the cabinet’s proposal for a NT$210 billion special budget unveiled on Friday.
Unlike the government’s bill, which specifies procurement targets for various drone types, the KMT version would leave procurement decisions up to the defence ministry while requiring lawmakers to be notified of any individual drone purchase exceeding NT$100 million.
