President: Passage of Military Procurement Act is Just the First Step, Hopes for Rapid Construction of 7 Major Defense Capabilities
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te acknowledged the passage of part of the special act for strengthening defense resilience but noted that key items like drones and command systems are still incomplete. He urged cross-party cooperation to rapidly build all seven major defense capabilities.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 22:49
- 🔍 Collected: May 8, 2026 at 23:02 (12 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 8, 2026 at 23:57 (55 min after Collected)
Central News
(Central News Agency Reporter Wen Guixiang Taipei 8th Report) President Lai Ching-te said today that the Legislative Yuan's completion of voting on some articles of the Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capability Procurement allows for the advancement of procurement of key equipment, including the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system. This is a difficult step taken after nearly 6 months of communication, but key items such as domestic production and commissioned manufacturing of drones, command and control systems, and the defense supply chain are still not fully included. He hopes that the ruling and opposition parties will continue to cooperate to accelerate the construction of the complete seven major defense capabilities.
The President posted on Facebook in the evening, stating that the Legislative Yuan today completed voting on some articles of the Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capability Procurement, allowing for the advancement of procurement of multiple key equipment, including the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system. This is a difficult step taken after nearly 6 months of communication.
The President said that he thanks all friends who have supported strengthening national defense and continued to pay attention to national defense issues during this period, but he also wants to clearly explain to the public: this is just the first step, not yet a complete answer.
He stated that the seven major defense capabilities covered by this special act are a mutually supportive, interconnected defense system, possessing integrity, urgency, and indivisibility.
The President said that the part of military procurement from the US passed today certainly responds to the urgent needs of several major military procurements; however, key items such as domestic production and commissioned manufacturing of drones, establishment of a defense supply chain, command and decision-making assistance systems, independent defense commissioned manufacturing, and joint R&D with the US are still not fully included.
The President emphasized that these capabilities are not auxiliary items, nor are they options that can be shelved. They are all critical links for Taiwan to strengthen defense resilience, build asymmetric warfare capabilities, and support sustained combat capabilities.
He stated that any gap will affect the integrity of the overall defense system; any delay will increase the security risks borne by the public. In the goal of strengthening self-defense and protecting the country and its people, there should be no partisan differences. Neighboring countries such as South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, in response to increasingly high regional threats, have all, in the shortest possible time, unanimously passed important military strengthening plans and budgets across party lines.
The President said that he expects the ruling and opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan to continue to work together on the basis of this step, to accelerate the complete construction of the seven capabilities, and not to omit any critical combat capabilities. (Editor: Hsieh Chia-chen) 1150508
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(Central News Agency Reporter Wen Guixiang Taipei 8th Report) President Lai Ching-te said today that the Legislative Yuan's completion of voting on some articles of the Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capability Procurement allows for the advancement of procurement of key equipment, including the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system. This is a difficult step taken after nearly 6 months of communication, but key items such as domestic production and commissioned manufacturing of drones, command and control systems, and the defense supply chain are still not fully included. He hopes that the ruling and opposition parties will continue to cooperate to accelerate the construction of the complete seven major defense capabilities.
The President posted on Facebook in the evening, stating that the Legislative Yuan today completed voting on some articles of the Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Warfare Capability Procurement, allowing for the advancement of procurement of multiple key equipment, including the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system. This is a difficult step taken after nearly 6 months of communication.
The President said that he thanks all friends who have supported strengthening national defense and continued to pay attention to national defense issues during this period, but he also wants to clearly explain to the public: this is just the first step, not yet a complete answer.
He stated that the seven major defense capabilities covered by this special act are a mutually supportive, interconnected defense system, possessing integrity, urgency, and indivisibility.
The President said that the part of military procurement from the US passed today certainly responds to the urgent needs of several major military procurements; however, key items such as domestic production and commissioned manufacturing of drones, establishment of a defense supply chain, command and decision-making assistance systems, independent defense commissioned manufacturing, and joint R&D with the US are still not fully included.
The President emphasized that these capabilities are not auxiliary items, nor are they options that can be shelved. They are all critical links for Taiwan to strengthen defense resilience, build asymmetric warfare capabilities, and support sustained combat capabilities.
He stated that any gap will affect the integrity of the overall defense system; any delay will increase the security risks borne by the public. In the goal of strengthening self-defense and protecting the country and its people, there should be no partisan differences. Neighboring countries such as South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, in response to increasingly high regional threats, have all, in the shortest possible time, unanimously passed important military strengthening plans and budgets across party lines.
The President said that he expects the ruling and opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan to continue to work together on the basis of this step, to accelerate the complete construction of the seven capabilities, and not to omit any critical combat capabilities. (Editor: Hsieh Chia-chen) 1150508
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The text, pictures, and audio-visual content of this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.