Two marines, Private First Class Tsai Po-yu (蔡博宇) and Staff Sergeant Chen Chih-jung (陳志榮), died after their inflatable boat overturned during a training accident on July 3. Two other marines were hospitalized and one remains in critical condition.
Unfortunately, accidents are part of combat training. Small-boat operations are tricky in the best of times, and in rough seas they are even trickier.
This is no consolation, but offers some context.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed her condolences and also noted: “At the same time, I would like to express my highest respect and gratitude to all the brothers and sisters of the National Army for their sacrifice for the county.”
Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) referred to the lost marines as “national heroes.”
These are heartfelt comments, but Tsai and the national government should treat the men and women serving in Taiwan’s armed forces with more respect while they are still alive.
For starters, consider successive Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administrations’ mystifying but steadfast refusal to properly fund defense — even though Taiwan is a wealthy nation.
Exact figures are elusive, but it is estimated that from 2008 to this year, defense spending only increased about 8 percent. Another assessment claims that since 1995 until now, the increase is only 4 percent when adjusted for inflation. Regardless, it is fair to say that Taiwan’s defense spending has not moved much while the military threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has grown exponentially.
Money is not everything, of course, but if you are unwilling to pay for something — and you have the money — you do not value it, no matter how much you claim otherwise. People serving in Taiwan’s military or thinking about joining get the message.
It is not surprising that Taiwan’s all-volunteer military has trouble attracting recruits. Salaries are low, benefits are few and housing is spartan. Adding to the problem, military pensions are paltry, but were cut in recent years, and there is talk of shrinking pensions even more.
As one woeful example, a serviceman commented: “We military personnel and our families can get free necessary medical care and general healthcare services in military hospitals, but are often treated as second-class customers, because the military hospitals are also open to civilians — [and] as they have to pay, the hospitals get all their revenue from them.”
In Taiwan, military service is not a respected profession, nor, apparently, a government priority.
The government seems to consider military personnel as just “government employees.”
That is true in one sense, but army, marine, navy and air force personnel are government employees “with a difference” by virtue of having promised to die for Taiwan.
Certainly this warrants better treatment than the local trash collectors.
The problems are not only with the active-duty force. The reserve system is a shambles, and needs attention and money too.
What to do? First, spend and do what is necessary so that young Taiwanese — male and female — view military service as an advantageous career choice that compares favorably to the private sector. Make it well-paying, offer decent living conditions (no more dilapidated quarters without air-conditioning), and look after military families — including with tax breaks and generous allowances for service members and their families.
Second, focus on professional development for service members — while in service and afterward.
Third, implement the equivalent of the US’ GI Bill, that provides lifelong benefits such as post-service education assistance, housing loans, healthcare and decent secure pensions for long-serving personnel.
Otherwise, slick promotions or advertisements will not lure enough people of the right sort into the armed forces.
Presidential declarations of unbounded admiration for the armed forces do not achieve much and come across as nice words only.
Instead, making the military a respected profession would be the equivalent of a dozen submarines, a squadron of F-35s and any number of M1A1 tanks.
To be sure, while this focus on “people” is the indispensable first step, it does not lessen the need to improve the armed forces’ capabilities by obtaining needed weaponry, and spending on research and development, while also restructuring the military into a mobile force — with a serious, competent reserve component — employing a range of asymmetric weapons that make Taiwan a “tough nut to crack.”
Keep in mind that a well-funded military with enough people (and highly motivated ones) is better able to transform itself — as the armed forces need to do. Otherwise, commanders have their hands full just maintaining the semblance of an armed force.
Taiwan’s political class should also recognize that doing what is necessary to “fix” Taiwan’s military has an important knock-on effect. Specifically, it addresses a longstanding complaint from naysayers in Washington.
The criticism is: “Taiwan won’t defend itself — and won’t spend the money to do so — so why should we?”
So take defense seriously — starting with substantially increased spending — and Taipei will find Washington’s tacit commitment to defending Taiwan correspondingly stronger.
Friends of Taiwan, such as this writer, have been puzzled for years. Taiwan faces a more immediate and more frightening threat of attack than any nation on Earth. Beijing has said that one way or another it will take Taiwan — sooner rather than later. Yet, Taiwan is being penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to defense.
Perhaps the DPP is relying too much on clever diplomacy and wonder weapons, and having “friends” in the US.
However, diplomacy only gets you so far. Even the most advanced weapons alone are never quite enough against a determined enemy.
While Taiwan does indeed have many supporters in the US Congress on both sides of the aisle, there are also people in Washington waiting in the wings for a new administration who see Taiwan differently. Given the chance, they will trade Taiwan for improved relations with China, and they will call it “statesmanship.”
Continue to hold back on defense spending in favor of “social” spending and the results might be fatal. Indeed, come under PRC domination, and Taiwan’s excellent (and expensive) public health system and education system would not matter much. Nor would its sizeable foreign exchange reserves.
Indeed, Hong Kong had all of these — or better said, it did have them, but will not for much longer.
Taiwan does not have much time left. If the Tsai administration does not get defense — and defense spending — right, nothing else matters much.
Paying more attention to the “national heroes” on the front lines should be the first order of business. And that costs money.
Grant Newsham is a retired US Marine Corps officer, a former US diplomat and a senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.
I came to Taiwan to pursue my degree thinking that Taiwanese are “friendly,” but I was welcomed by Taiwanese classmates laughing at my friend’s name, Maria (瑪莉亞). At the time, I could not understand why they were mocking the name of Jesus’ mother. Later, I learned that “Maria” had become a stereotype — a shorthand for Filipino migrant workers. That was because many Filipino women in Taiwan, especially those who became house helpers, happen to have that name. With the rapidly increasing number of foreigners coming to Taiwan to work or study, more Taiwanese are interacting, socializing and forming relationships with
Earlier signs suggest that US President Donald Trump’s policy on Taiwan is set to move in a more resolute direction, as his administration begins to take a tougher approach toward America’s main challenger at the global level, China. Despite its deepening economic woes, China continues to flex its muscles, including conducting provocative military drills off Taiwan, Australia and Vietnam recently. A recent Trump-signed memorandum on America’s investment policy was more about the China threat than about anything else. Singling out the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a foreign adversary directing investments in American companies to obtain cutting-edge technologies, it said
The recent termination of Tibetan-language broadcasts by Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a significant setback for Tibetans both in Tibet and across the global diaspora. The broadcasts have long served as a vital lifeline, providing uncensored news, cultural preservation and a sense of connection for a community often isolated by geopolitical realities. For Tibetans living under Chinese rule, access to independent information is severely restricted. The Chinese government tightly controls media and censors content that challenges its narrative. VOA and RFA broadcasts have been among the few sources of uncensored news available to Tibetans, offering insights
Chinese social media influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣), whose real name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), made statements advocating for “reunifying Taiwan [with China] through military force.” After verifying that Liu did indeed make such statements, the National Immigration Agency revoked her dependency-based residency permit. She must now either leave the country voluntarily or be deported. Operating your own page and becoming an influencer require a certain amount of support and user traffic. You must successfully gain approval for your views and attract an audience. Although Liu must leave the country, I cannot help but wonder how many more “Yayas” are still
RSS