Taiwan’s president is urging the island’s parliament to get behind a new drone spending package, saying the country cannot ignore global calls to take on a greater share of collective defense responsibilities.
President Lai Ching-te made the appeal on Friday while visiting the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, a government-affiliated arms contractor located in the central city of Taichung. He told reporters that pressure from China on Taiwan has been growing more intense.
“To demonstrate our determination to safeguard the nation, maintain stability across the Taiwan Strait, and uphold peace in the Indo-Pacific, we must respond to the international call to share the responsibility of collective defence,” Lai said.
The push comes after Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament voted in May to approve only two-thirds of the T$1.25 trillion — roughly $38.69 billion — in additional defense funding that Lai had originally requested. Lawmakers at the time set aside money only for purchasing U.S. weapons systems.
Now, the government has put forward a new T$210 billion spending proposal focused on surveillance drones, coastal attack drones, and small surface drones, with funding planned through the end of 2031. Opposition parties in parliament are also advancing their own drone spending proposals.
Lai pointed to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as fighting involving the United States and Iran, as evidence that drones have emerged as the “most important assets on the battlefield.”
He called on both ruling and opposition lawmakers to set aside their differences and work together on the issue. “I also call on both the ruling and opposition parties to jointly support national security and industrial development, in order to respond to the international community’s expectations regarding Taiwan’s determination to safeguard its security,” he said.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has never ruled out using military force to bring the island under its control. Lai and his administration reject Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over Taiwan.
The United States, which serves as Taiwan’s primary arms supplier and most significant international supporter, has expressed strong backing for Taiwan’s efforts to expand defense spending — particularly when it comes to drones. Earlier this month, the top U.S. diplomat stationed in Taiwan said the island needs a “hornet’s nest” of drones to deter potential conflict and bolster security.
The Trump administration has been pushing U.S. allies to increase their own military budgets, a call that Lai has publicly and enthusiastically embraced.
