President Lai Ching-te visited reservist units in Yilan on Taiwan’s east coast as they carried out drone training exercises on Tuesday.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />“This change marks a new milestone in reserve-force training,” Lai said during his Yilan visit.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Reporter: Lery Hiciano<br />Videographers: John Su/Ryan Wu<br />Video Editor: Alison Nguyen
