Taiwan opposition stalls US$6.6 billion domestic drone plan to protect island against potential Chinese attack

Taiwan’s opposition-controlled parliament stalled on Friday the government’s proposed US$6.6 billion in spending on domestically made drones that could be used to defend the island against a potential Chinese attack.

President Lai Ching-te’s government has been at loggerheads for months with the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) over how much to spend on improving the island democracy’s defence capabilities against China.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to seize it by force if necessary.

Lai’s government wants to allocate up to NT$210 billion (US$6.6 billion) over more than five years for Taiwan-made unmanned vehicles, including coastal surveillance, attack and surface drones.

But the KMT and TPP, which hold the majority of seats in the parliament, refused on Friday to consider the bill while they come up with their own versions.

KMT lawmaker Hsu Yu-chen said the party “supports the development of the unmanned systems and drone industry” and will propose its own version.

“We hope all sides can discuss the different versions once they are proposed,” Hsu told AFP.

Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee said “efforts towards defence self-reliance and the development of critical national industrial (supply) chains should not be obstructed by politics”.

Chung Chia-pin, a lawmaker for Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), criticised the opposition for the hold-up.

“If next week or the week after they come up with their own version, will they agree at that point to allow other versions to be put under review as well?” he told AFP.

“If that happens it will only further prove that they are laggards and cheaters.

“They haven’t even stepped up to the starting line, but they won’t let anyone else run either.”

KMT lawmaker Ma Wen-chun said the party “cannot accept” the government’s latest bill.

“It simply brings back the parts we opposed in the past,” Ma told AFP.

“For overall development of the industry or of drones, we hoped they would present a concrete and comprehensive vision and plan, and basically allocate funds through the annual budget, instead of constantly resorting to special budgets at the drop of a hat.”

In May, the KMT and the TPP passed a US$25 billion special defence budget, slashing by a third the amount sought by the DPP.

The opposition stripped out around US$15 billion that the government had wanted to use for domestic drone procurement and other efforts to boost defences.