President Lai pushes $6.6 billion military drone bill ahead of crucial vote

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee / Staff Reporter, with Reuters Add TT as Preferred Source Taiwan must demonstrate its resolve to defend itself and pass a six-year, T$210 billion ($6.6 billion) special budget to buy military drones, President Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday ahead of a crucial vote in the opposition-controlled parliament.Taiwan’s government says the plans to buy some 210,000 new military drones cannot wait, given the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have shown the importance of uncrewed weapons in modern warfare.But the opposition, which controls parliament, has put forward its own proposals to cap spending each year at T$40 billion, drawn from the annual budget and overseen by the economy, not defence, ministry. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te speaks in front of a Teng Yun u