The Yushan exercises, which were held annually between 2005 and last year, and the Chunghsing exercise, to be held by the current government, are by nature political-military exercises at a national strategic level. The president takes part in his capacity as head of state and commander in chief.
One reason the Yushan exercises were initiated was that the National Security Council is a crisis management mechanism designed to respond to major contingencies in such areas as diplomacy, defense and cross-strait affairs. As for military crises, the council, which is convened by the president and includes 13 key government officials, is the body that decides whether to go to war.
The Yushan exercises simulated various crisis scenarios that tested the judgment and coordination abilities of these government officials. They were designed to see how officials react under pressure given a lack of clear data about the enemy and the US’ ambiguous attitude.
Winning a presidential election does not automatically qualify one as capable of acting as commander in chief.
The military must provide its soldiers with the latest information about the enemy, and the same applies to military exercises. China is the biggest threat to Taiwan’s security and it is common sense that striving for cross-strait peace is not contradictory to preparing for war. The Yushan exercises posed a significant challenge to participants, especially for non-military sectors. My personal view is that although Taiwan’s armed forces may be able to fight a war, the government is institutionally incapable of doing so.
Taiwan’s emergency system was established based on the context of the Chinese civil war and is outdated. For instance, the Ministry of National Defense suggests that the president should declare martial law if the country faces a military crisis. The current Martial Law Act contains too many pitfalls and would be hard to be implement. Many problems, even at strategic level, that have been hidden in the plan have surfaced during the decision-making debates on previous exercises.
The Yushan exercises obliged officials to make difficult decisions under chaotic conditions, thus providing a rare training opportunity. In addition to politically appointed officials, nearly 1,000 civil servants and career military officers have received this training over the last four years — the people we must rely on when the country is in danger.
Crisis management procedures, policy debate records and post-exercise reports were well kept and passed to the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou. I urge government officials to spend more time studying them.
York W. Chen is a former senior adviser to the National Security Council.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
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