Taiwan’s military is considering whether to require female military personnel who have been discharged to participate in the reservist training program with their male counterparts once the armed forces has enough training capacity.
Only male personnel discharged from active duty within the past eight years are so far required to participate in the reservist training program, Ministry of National Defense All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Major General Yu Wen-cheng (俞文鎮) said yesterday.
The armed forces can only train up to 110,000 reservists annually, Yu said, adding that current capacity covers about half of the nation’s eligible reservists.
Photo: Military News Agency
After the military has expanded its training capacity — including establishing new reserve units and facilities — the ministry would consider requiring female veterans to participate in the training, he said.
A ministry briefing to the Legislative Yuan in 2020 said that the military expected to establish five new brigades of reservists and three training centers so that it could train up to 268,000 reservists annually.
Yu was responding to complaints that only male veterans are required to participate in regular reservist training.
For decades, reservists have said that the policy is sexist.
The complaints resurfaced after the ministry this month doubled the training period to two weeks from one week in a bid to improve the combat readiness of the reserve forces amid an escalation in cross-strait tensions.
While Taiwanese men are required to complete military service and reservist training, women can voluntarily join the armed forces.
Of the more than 180,000 military personnel in Taiwan, 15 percent of them are female, defense ministry data showed.
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