Passage by the legislature of the Defense Law (國防法) finally con-fers on the military both legal status and governmental accountability.
This replaces decades of existence under organizational laws and executive orders without legislative basis.
Significantly, this and other laws and amendments passed will for the first time place the military structure under civilian control and, as a result, make it more accountable to the government.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Lawmakers also passed major revisions to the Defense Ministry Organizational Law (
Also passed were five laws mandating the establishment of a Coast Guard Administration (
The Defense Law features a clear description, in Article 8, of the relationship between the minister of national defense and the chief of the general staff: "The president passes orders down (
In the original version of the law, the president did not "pass down" but "gave" orders to the defense minister, who was then to pass them down to the chief of the general staff.
This change in wording is expected to ensure that the defense minister has the power to order the chief of the general staff to act as ordered by the president. It also indicates the possibility that the defense minister may choose to reject orders from the president under certain circumstances.
The Defense Law also establishes the main framework for the country's defense system, which will comprise the president, the National Security Council, the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of National Defense in a top-down model.
In Article 12 of the law, the defense minister is described as a "civilian," which is generally considered to mean future ministers will not be drawn from the military hierarchy.
The passage of revisions to the Defense Ministry Organization Law also marks a revolution in military organization, whose administrative and executive arms have long operated separately, as there was no clear legal formulation of their respective functions or status.
In the revised law, the current executive arm as represented by the chief of the general staff and his staff offices is placed directly under the control of the defense minister.
Until now, the chief of the general staff has always been higher in status than the minister, and has been more powerful, holding the power to command troops under orders directly from the president.
This imbalance in the military power structure, however, has effectively been removed with the chief of the general staff being clearly designated as a member of the defense minister's staff.
In practice, however, the chief of the general staff will have command of the troops, since the defense minister is expected to delegate such powers, freeing himself to concentrate on administrative affairs, a defense official said yesterday.
In like manner, the chief of the general staff will also delegate certain portions of his command to the heads of the army, air force, navy and other services, the official said.
Such a practice will not totally separate the administrative and executive systems, the official said, but at least the defense minister will be empowered within the executive system under his control, a power which has long been denied him.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from