Unmanned Vehicle Budget Unfrozen! KMT Caucus Makes U-Turn Before Budget Vote: Thanks to Speaker Han Kuo-yu's Coordination

After nearly a year of delays, today (14th) marks the final vote on this year’s national budget in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan. Just before the session began, the KMT Legislative Caucus issued a press release announcing that the NT$44.2 billion 'Integrated Unmanned Vehicle Industry Development Plan' proposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), along with an additional NT$19.2 billion in procurement budgets from various Executive Yuan agencies, totaling NT$63.4 billion, would be fully approved. This amount will be excluded from the opposition parties’ proposal to cut 1.5% across the entire budget, strongly supporting Taiwan’s national security and self-reliance in defense industries, with hopes of creating a 'second national fortress'.

Last year, the Executive Yuan approved the six-year 'Integrated Unmanned Vehicle Industry Development Plan', allocating NT$44.2 billion through public funds, coordinated by the MOEA. Previously, the KMT caucus questioned the process, noting that related agency budgets had already been included in the 115th fiscal year budget submitted in August last year, while the plan itself was only approved in mid-October—violating legal procedures. As a result, the KMT initially proposed deleting the budget, later switching to freezing it. The freeze proposal was even finalized, with justification statements prepared, and scheduled for a vote during today’s session.

However, just before the official opening of the Legislative Yuan session, at 10:17 AM, the KMT caucus released a statement titled 'Fully Supporting National Defense Drone Industry, Upholding Fiscal Discipline and Transparent Oversight'. It declared full approval for the MOEA’s NT$44.2 billion six-year plan and the NT$19.2 billion procurement budget from various Executive Yuan agencies, totaling NT$63.4 billion. This sum will be exempted from the general 1.5% budget reduction proposed by opposition parties. Instead, the KMT will submit a main resolution requiring the MOEA to 'allocate the budget evenly over six years, without exceeding annual limits'.

The KMT caucus stated it fully supports the development of the drone industry and strengthening national defense, strongly backing Taiwan’s security and autonomous development of its defense industry. It expressed hope to build a 'second world-class national fortress', enabling Taiwan’s drone industry to thrive. With Taiwan’s most complete upstream and downstream component supply chain, it believes the island will become the world’s largest drone production base, exporting to all countries in need. The caucus explained that due to delayed data submissions from the MOEA, clarity was only achieved after Legislative Yuan President Han Kuo-yu convened coordination talks. After verification, it confirmed no overlap with this year’s NT$19.2 billion procurement budget across agencies, thus giving its support. It thanked Han Kuo-yu for his mediation, showcasing the legislature’s bipartisan determination to support national defense.

To pragmatically build an 'Asia-Pacific Democratic Supply Chain Hub', the main resolution on the MOEA’s NT$44.2 billion plan aims to ensure domestic firms receive long-term, stable orders, preventing abrupt budget fluctuations that could disrupt the industry and ensuring sustainable resource allocation. However, the KMT emphasized that supporting defense must not become an excuse to evade oversight. Future procurements must strictly follow the Government Procurement Act, firmly preventing any form of 'privileged turnkey contracting followed by subcontracting', and rejecting the idea of strategic industries becoming profit-making grounds for a few.

The KMT also stated that all future plans from agencies must be legally incorporated into a unified system and approved by the Executive Yuan, thoroughly implementing centralized authority. 'The KMT believes true support for national defense means spending public funds precisely where they are needed. We will continue strict oversight while supporting industrial growth, ensuring Taiwan’s defense supply chain remains resilient, clean, and transparent.'