President Lai Ching-te visited reservist units in Yilan on Taiwan’s east coast as they carried out drone training exercises on Tuesday.
Lai recently announced a US$40 billion special defense budget. Since then, Taiwan has rolled out major drone procurement plans, boosted benefits for specialist units and is now training reservists to operate drone systems.
“This change marks a new milestone in reserve-force training,” Lai said during his Yilan visit.
The defense ministry is set to acquire nearly 49,000 domestically made drones over the next two years. All drones would be 100% free of Chinese components.
Reporter: Lery Hiciano Videographers: John Su/Ryan Wu Video Editor: Alison Nguyen
00:00President Lai Ching-de is visiting reservist units here on Taiwan's East Coast as they carry out drone training exercises, part of the military's expansion in this field.
00:12Lai recently announced a $40 billion special defense budget, and Taiwan has rolled out major drone procurement plans, boosted benefits for specialist units, and is now training reservists to operate drone systems.
00:23The President says the country plans to be ready to respond to a potential invasion by 2027, even as Taiwan faces daily gray zone threats in the air, at sea, and online.
00:46But the Defense Ministry is betting on drones to help with reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and long-distance weaponry.
00:51The Defense Ministry is set to acquire nearly 49,000 domestically-made drones over the next two years, 34,000 first-person view drones, along with around 5,000 bombers and medium and small-range loitering munitions, as well as more than 700 coastal surveillance drones.
01:06All drones would be 100% free of Chinese components.
01:10Although less glamorous than displays of air power and big-ticket naval combat drills, these training exercises are crucial to Taiwan's overall defense strategy.
01:19The President says the goal is to make sure that reservists are training regularly on new equipment, so that if a conflict ever were to break out, Taiwan would be fully prepared for whatever comes its way.
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