Tang to sharpen armed forces

Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) yesterday said he was determined to revamp the logistics support systems of the armed forces.

"Logistics support is the key to combat readiness of troops. Its importance is highlighted by the fact that the armed forces always have to maintain a high level of combat readiness to handle any potential military threat from China," Tang said.

"Logistics support will play a central role in the arms build-up around the globe in the future. The Chinese military is also moving in this direction. Our vision of troops for the 21st century is based on the same thinking," he said.

Tang made the statements yesterday as he delivered a speech to military leaders on future logistics development. "If no action is taken today, it will be too late to do anything tomorrow. We are running against time," Tang said.

Tang set a three-stage timeframe for the completion of the modernization project within five years. According to Tang's plan, modernization is to be carried out in three stages, with the first stage slated to be completed next year, the second stage to span from 2002 to 2004, and the third stage to begin 2005.

The ultimate goal of the project is to build an independent and cross-service logistics support system, which can provide service to units nationwide in the shortest possible time, defense officials said.

The system is planned to operate under the Combined Services Force, which is to be downgraded in three years and renamed the "joint logistics support command," the officials said.

Michael Swaine, a researcher with the US-based Rand corporation, has pointed out in one of his reports on Taiwan's military that: "For a variety of reasons [e.g., excessive emphasis on the political symbolism of major weapon systems, inadequate funding, service rivalries, and short-term enlistment rates] many observers believe that the ROC military pays inadequate attention to proper maintenance, resupply, crew training, and coordinated operations training among the three services."

Keven Cheng (鄭繼文), editor in chief of the local Defence Technology Monthly magazine, said there were many problems with the present logistics support system of the armed forces that could not be solved immediately.

"The regular checks performed by weapons and equipment inspectors, for instance, are often done in a perfunctory manner. The result is that a considerable proportion of vehicles and weapons in operation cannot be put to immediate use in an emergency," Cheng said.

"I hope that Tang's project can be implemented as planned. We know one of the biggest problems with the army is that policy priorities often change along with the change of political power," he said.