The armed forces have 155,218 volunteers in active service, the fewest professional soldiers in the military in the past five years, a report published earlier this month by the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center showed.
Although the military has received the final deliveries related to multiple arms deals, the weapons systems would likely not prove effective if the nation lacks the necessary number of highly trained soldiers to operate them, the center report said.
The Ministry of National Defense listed a NT$220.5 billion (US$6.85 billion) budget for next year, which represents a 7.67 percent increase in spending over the current year, the report said.
Photo: I-hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
Military investments related to arms procurements are to increase 34.65 percent and would become the fastest-growing spending item in the budget, it said.
Volunteer service members are the backbone of the military’s combat strength, and staffing requirements for professional soldiers are not alleviated by extending the length of the conscription period, it said.
The center said the strength of the volunteer forces peaked in 2021 before declining annually, while many principal combat units designated as Class 1 are below 80 percent of their authorized strength.
The military had 162,039 volunteers in 2019, 164,063 volunteers in 2020, 164,884 volunteers in 2021 and 159,392 volunteers last year, it said.
The dearth of personnel is likely to impede the armed forces’ ability to train and retain soldiers with the skills necessary to operate advanced military equipment, it said.
The program to recruit prospective soldiers and officers through reserve cadet programs embedded in high schools, vocational colleges and universities has not achieved the desired effect, the center said.
Although the Ministry of National Defense has established reserve cadet programs in 410 high schools and vocational high schools since 2018, the number of enlistments from the cadet programs at all levels of schools has fallen every year since 2020, it said.
These programs reported 9,616 enlistments in 2020, 8,293 in 2021 and 7,409 last year, it said.
The drop in enlistments occurred despite the ministry’s steady funding of the programs, which increased to NT$39.89 million last year from NT$14.43 million in 2019, the center said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS