Lai Ching-te: Opposition's drone bill unconstitutional, infringes on executive power; hopes for support of Executive Yuan's version

(CNA Taipei, July 1) President Lai Ching-te, who also serves as DPP chairman, said today that the opposition parties' proposed drone bill violates the principle of constitutional separation of powers and infringes on executive authority. He urged all parties in the Legislative Yuan to jointly support the Executive Yuan's draft "Special Act for Procurement of National Defense Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles" and to complete its review as soon as possible to jointly safeguard Taiwan's security.

Speaking at a DPP Central Executive Committee meeting today, Lai Ching-te stated that in response to the urgent need for developing autonomous unmanned vehicles for national defense, and to ensure the continuous enhancement of the military's combat capabilities, the Executive Yuan submitted the draft "Special Act for Procurement of National Defense Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles" to the Legislative Yuan for review on June 18.

He expressed hope that the special act would accelerate the research, development, production, and procurement of unmanned vehicles such as drones and unmanned boats, thereby strengthening national defense autonomy, enhancing Taiwan's overall defense resilience, and driving the development of Taiwan's unmanned vehicle industry.

Lai Ching-te noted that opposition caucuses recently joined forces to postpone the Executive Yuan's draft special act from being listed on the legislative agenda. The KMT and the TPP have successively announced this week that they will propose their own versions of the unmanned vehicle bill, arguing that special budgets may evade supervision and that related expenses should be incorporated into the annual budget.

Lai Ching-te emphasized that the unmanned vehicle bill proposed by the opposition parties violates the principle of constitutional separation of powers and infringes on executive authority. More importantly, the technology for unmanned vehicles is rapidly evolving, and the military's force building and readiness preparation are highly time-sensitive. If the expenses are entirely incorporated into the annual budget, it will not only significantly increase the fiscal burden in a single year but also be easily constrained by budget limits, crowding out other important public expenditures such as education and social welfare, and making it difficult to respond promptly to the needs of force building.

He stated that a special budget, under a clear budget scale and execution deadline, coupled with large-scale procurement of unmanned vehicles, can provide the industry with stable, continuous, and predictable long-term orders, reducing investment risks for businesses and allowing the military's force building and the national defense autonomous industry to develop in parallel.

Lai Ching-te said that in the face of geopolitical changes and the evolution of modern warfare, building asymmetric capabilities is a defense project that is a race against time. Currently, Taiwan's unmanned vehicle industry, centered on the "non-red supply chain" and "dual-use military and civilian applications," is entering a phase of rapid growth in overall output value. In response to the restructuring of international supply chains and the increasing demand for defense procurement, the government hopes to drive the continuous upgrading of the overall industry by enhancing national defense autonomous research and development capabilities, and seize new opportunities for international cooperation.

He urged all parties in the Legislative Yuan, with the common goal of strengthening Taiwan's overall defense resilience, to jointly support the Executive Yuan's draft "Special Act for Procurement of National Defense Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles" and to complete its review as soon as possible. This will help to jointly foster national defense autonomous capabilities and jointly safeguard Taiwan's security, thereby strengthening the military's combat power, demonstrating Taiwan's determination for self-defense, and seizing the important moment to connect with the international security supply chain. (Editor: Lin Ke-lun) 1150701

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