Taiwan's military police command plans to increase its force to 11,000 over the next five years and purchase new anti-drone systems to protect the president, local media reported on Friday.
The military police are becoming a key force to counter a possible so-called "decapitation strike" - a scenario for a Chinese attack targeting the president and the Presidential Palace in Taipei, Liberty Times reported.
The military police intend to purchase M-ACE anti-drone systems from the US company Northrop Grumman. According to the publication, the system uses the same type of 30mm automatic cannons as those mounted on Apache attack helicopters and can destroy drones at a distance of up to 3 kilometers.
The unit prefers to mount the weapon systems on vehicles, which will allow them to be quickly moved to different parts of the capital.
The 2027 national defense budget includes 140 million NTD (about 4.4 million US dollars) for the maintenance and repair of the armored vehicles used by the military police.
The command also plans to almost double its current strength from about 5,600 to 11,000 people. A base in southern Taipei is planned to supplement the marine corps guarding Taipei Songshan Airport and the army unit stationed in the Guandu district of the capital's Beidou administrative region, the Liberty Times reported.
Over the next five years, volunteers and conscripts will be trained for frontline operations to protect key roads, bridges and power plants in the Taiwanese capital.