Taiwan: Chinafreundliche Opposition in Taiwan blockiert Drohnen-Pläne

Taiwan's government aims to arm itself for a potential Chinese attack but is hindered by the pro-China opposition in the legislature. In the ongoing debate over defense budget allocations, the legislature, dominated by the opposition, blocked a proposed special cabinet budget for the development of drones. Instead, the opposition's proposed legislation passed through the legislature, mandating future drone development funding through the regular annual budget.

The opposition, led by the pro-China Kuomintang party, claims this gives them greater control over expenditures. The Defense Ministry worries that annual budget reviews could delay procurement. According to the Speaker of the Parliament, the legislature will finalize the proposed legislation before the start of the next session on September 29th and present it to the President for promulgation.

The cabinet can still request a further review, leading to another parliamentary vote; otherwise, the President is obligated to promulgate the law within ten days of receiving it. Taiwan faces a Chinese threat; the People's Republic claims sovereignty over the self-governing island republic and threatens to invade if necessary. The Defense Ministry expressed regret over the cabinet's proposal not being adopted.

Since June, Premier Cho Jung-tai and Defense Minister Wellington Koo have repeatedly emphasized the urgent need for a special cabinet budget to expand Taiwan's military drone capabilities, including coastal surveillance and strike drones, as well as small unmanned self-destruct boats. The ongoing war in Ukraine has underscored the importance of drones in military conflicts.

The defense autonomy strengthening and promotion of unmanned vehicle industry legislation, proposed by the cabinet, provides funding over a six-year period of 240 billion Taiwan dollars (approximately 6.5 billion euros) to strengthen national defense. The special budget envisioned by the cabinet was intended to amount to 210 billion Taiwan dollars (roughly 5.7 billion euros).