KMT Proposes Drone Regulations; DPP Welcomes

(CNA Taipei, June 29) To continue developing unmanned vehicles, the Executive Yuan passed relevant draft legislation and sent it to the Legislative Yuan for review. However, it was blocked by opposition parties and temporarily shelved. The KMT caucus plans to propose drone-related regulations this week. DPP caucus whip Chuang Jui-hsiung said today that although the KMT's stance has been inconsistent, the DPP caucus expresses welcome for the sake of national security and industrial development.

On June 26, the KMT and TPP caucuses, using their numerical advantage in the Legislative Yuan session, temporarily shelved the Executive Yuan's draft special regulations for unmanned vehicles. The KMT caucus intends to propose its version today. KMT legislator Liao Wei-hsiang stated that the caucus has reached a high degree of consensus internally and will propose a version with a budget exceeding that of the Executive Yuan. KMT legislator Lo Ting-wei revealed that a budget ceiling of NT$240 billion is quite possible.

Chuang Jui-hsiung said at a DPP public opinion response press conference this morning that when the Legislative Yuan previously reviewed the Executive Yuan's draft special regulations for national defense, with a budget of NT$1.25 trillion over 8 years, the KMT went from initial comprehensive obstruction to a softening of its stance, and finally the Legislative Yuan passed a NT$780 billion version. This shows the KMT's attitude is unpredictable.

Chuang Jui-hsiung stated that the DPP caucus welcomes the KMT caucus's plan to propose its own version, as it will help promote industrial development, enhance defense autonomy, and ensure national security.

Legislator Wu Ssu-yao, who also serves as the executive director of the DPP Policy Committee, mentioned in an interview at the Legislative Yuan that Legislative Yuan Speaker Han Kuo-yu, upon returning to Taiwan from his visit to the United States, should fulfill the commitments he made based on what he heard, saw, and learned in the U.S. She stated that she respects the KMT and TPP if they want to propose their own versions, but hopes they are not playing games and do not use the excuse of proposing their own versions to block the promotion of the Executive Yuan's version. All bills should have equal rights for thorough discussion.

The Executive Yuan passed the draft special regulations for national defense unmanned vehicle procurement on June 18. A special budget with a spending ceiling of NT$210 billion was allocated. The period is expected to run from August 1, 2023, to December 31, 2031. Procurement items include coastal surveillance drones, coastal attack drones, and small suicide unmanned boats. (Editor: Hsieh Chia-chen) 06/29/2024

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