A majority of military experts are pessimistic about the nation’s transition to an all-volunteer force due to the difficulties of enlisting sufficient volunteers, according to a Control Yuan report published yesterday.
Control Yuan members Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) and Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平) released their joint report, titled The Latest Developments of the Government’s Facilitation of An All-Volunteer Military, at a press conference in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
“We have spoken to several military experts, including a former minister of defense and a serving chief of staff of the army. Most are deeply concerned about the goal of having an all-volunteer military,” Huang said, adding that Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) is the only official endorsing the system.
The all-volunteer system was originally scheduled for 2015, but was postponed for two years by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) in September because of recruitment difficulties.
In the first 11 months of the year, the military enlisted a total of 8,603 volunteers, just 30.15 percent of the ministry’s target of 28,531 recruits.
The report quoted retired navy vice admiral Lan Ning-li (蘭寧利) as saying that the consequences of implementing an all-volunteer system could be “devastating,” as the armed forces would most likely “run out of soldiers” when it could neither enlist sufficient volunteers or convince enough officers to stay in the military.
Former navy commander-in-chief Admiral Miao Yung-ching (苗永慶) was also quoted in the report as saying: “My gravest concern is that the all-volunteer system may not be fully developed by the time the government scraps the conscription system… Is it possible for [the government] to postpone the suspension to a later date?”
Chao said that aside from the recruitment issues, the ministry also faces major financial challenges.
“The all-volunteer system is expected to cost the government NT$50 billion to NT$60 billion [US$1.66 billion to US$1.99 billion] a year more than the conscription system. That figure is likely to increase rather than decrease over time. Where will we get that kind of money?” Chao said.
Huang said the problems would only be exacerbated when the all-volunteer system comes into effect in 2017.
“By then, there may be only three options left for the ministry: Cutting the size of the armed forces, which is also proposed by some of the experts we spoke to; further deferring the implementation of the all-volunteer system; or reinstating the conscription system,” Huang said.
However, the pair declined to give an unequivocal answer when asked by reporters whether they “strongly suggest” that the government abandon the all-volunteer goal altogether.
“Military affairs are vital to the nation, so we must not jump to any conclusions… However, we cannot say we are optimistic [about the all-volunteer system] either,” Huang said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS