Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said that accelerating the build-up of drone defence capabilities has become a matter of the utmost urgency — a warning sign for Taiwan's security, but an opportunity for the domestic drone industry.

• The Legislative Yuan is pushing to complete the third reading of the special act on uncrewed vehicles by the 28th, but the ruling and opposition parties have yet to reach consensus on the 14 competing versions, and the entire bill has been held over.
• The Executive Yuan's version provides for budget allocations year by year, capped at NT$210 billion, to be used to procure coastal surveillance and reconnaissance drones, attack drones and small suicide uncrewed boats.
• Hsiao warned that if Taiwan's asymmetric combat power is watered down, Beijing could misjudge Taiwan's resolve to defend itself, just as Putin misjudged Ukraine; Taiwan's goal is to raise the threshold for invading Taiwan extremely high.
• Drones are also used in disaster relief. During the major Hualien earthquake in 2024, the lack of models capable of automatic obstacle avoidance and AI-based identification and positioning delayed rescue efforts.
• On the industry side, Taiwan's drone exports in the first half of this year have already exceeded the total for all of last year, as countries seek trustworthy non-red supply chains — provided the budget is in place.

Outlook: Whether the special act clears the legislature on the 28th will determine the next step for Taiwan's drone procurement and industrial expansion.