Lin Kuo-chang, a candidate for Yilan County magistrate, used the September 3 Armed Forces Day to propose turning Yilan into a testing and R&D base for drones and unmanned boats — good news for local scientific research and the defence industry, but a proposal that also highlights concerns over the stalled defence budget.

• The Legislative Yuan has frozen about NT$20.7 billion of the Ministry of National Defense's budget, with equipment and facilities funding cut by 2.5%, directly affecting frontline personnel.
• Lin Kuo-chang called on the legislature to stop politically motivated cuts and freezes so that logistics do not hold back the front line.
• Drones and unmanned boats are becoming increasingly important for reconnaissance, maritime and air patrols, and disaster-area rescue, and can take over high-risk missions.
• Yilan offers both clean maritime and airspace testing environments, with the National Ilan University campus and Su'ao Port available as ready-made sites.
• The central government has already agreed to upgrade the existing degree programme into a graduate institute of unmanned vehicles and artificial intelligence, along with a research and development laboratory.

Outlook: Yilan will seek to link up with the central government's "non-red democratic supply chain" plan, connecting local academia with northern Taiwan's industrial chain for unmanned vehicle research and development.