Taiwan is asking its parliament for extra money to buy locally made drones, a push that is good for Taiwanese manufacturers and aimed at cutting reliance on Chinese parts.

• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim said the government has filed a supplementary budget request to buy drones, with coastal surveillance drones, attack drones, and small attack boats to be built at home.
• All drone buying, military and civilian, must avoid Chinese supply chains, lowering the risk of being cut off.
• Taiwan's strength in chips, telecom gear, and precision manufacturing has to be tied much more closely to defense, though old bureaucratic habits were never built for that kind of speed.
• President Lai has promised to raise defense spending to 5% of the economy by 2030, a big ask of public money that still has to clear the budget process.
• Lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East point to drones and counter-drone systems reshaping war, plus a need for cheap air defense and AI help with intelligence and logistics.

Outlook: The spending plan now depends on parliament approving it, with the fight likely to center on how much Taiwan can afford and how fast local factories can deliver.