Evaluating combat readiness, on the other hand, is an imperfect science, which means that the best benchmarks at our disposal are ensuring that one’s rifle is close at hand, that forces are well-organized, well-equipped, well-trained and mentally prepared to fight.
Taiwan’s military has made impressive progress in training its reserve forces. For instance, training courses were reconfigured to meet defensive mission needs. Cooperative training with local military branch schools was authorized. Greater use of battlefield simulators and interactive video systems was made at every training brigade. Regional training centers were set up so that units from different cities and counties could pool training resources.
Having said this, some prophylactic measures to boost troop morale should be seriously considered. Reserve forces must have the proper equipment to perform their missions. Active and reserve forces fighting at the same time should have equal claim on modern equipment inventories.
In case of war, reserve forces would mainly be in charge of littoral, civil and critical infrastructure defense. However, at present reserve forces are mainly equipped with weapons that are being phased out by active forces. Weapons such as rifles, machine guns and mortars are ill-suited for the high-technology combat that would characterize an invasion by China.
Murray argues that reserve forces should be equipped with mobile coastal-defense cruise missiles such as the truck-mounted Harpoon because “a fairly small number of these missiles would likely devastate China’s armor-carrying amphibious ships or hovercrafts.” In addition, short-range man-portable and truck-mounted air-defense systems such as the Stinger, Avenger and Chaparral should be added to the inventory to secure critical infrastructure and conduct urban warfare.
Ensuring that reserve forces receive the kind of training and weapons they need will make them capable of defending the homeland. In addition, as much as possible, reserve components should train with the active military. When reserve forces become a synchronized part of the larger active forces, their potential combat effectiveness and readiness will be greatly increased.
Only if we are wise in our reliance on well-organized, well-equipped and well-trained ground forces can we be assured that a Chinese invasion would be met with the proper force.
Yu Tsung-chi is a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council in the US.
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