Following a defense meeting at the presidential office, President Lai announced new arrangements regarding civil defense and rescue drills for 2025. This comes after a recent legislative amendment that could result in budget cuts to the country's defense.
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00:00President Lai Ching-te has announced the restructuring of Taiwan's civil defense drills for next year,
00:07following a series of tabletop exercises held at the Presidential Office.
00:11We will design the drills in a way that does not rely on the military's support, and
00:17will use the latest international experience to design the drills.
00:20The drills will be different from the Han-Kwang drills, and will be able to support each other
00:26and verify the ability of the civil defense and disaster prevention system to execute and protect national actions.
00:33Lai stressed the role of civilians in Taiwan's defense resilience and preparedness.
00:38The tabletop exercises, which involved central and local governments, along with civilian
00:44observers, revealed gaps in inter-agency communication and coordination.
00:50This comes shortly after the legislature passed controversial amendments that could reduce
00:55the country's defense budget by over 2.4 billion U.S. dollars.