Lawmakers are calling for reservist standards to be relaxed to boost their numbers, as well as for improved combat training.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) on Friday said that Taiwan should take lessons Ukraine’s preparedness for invasion.
Kyiv mobilized its reservists at the last minute, demonstrating a lack of systems in place to assemble them in time, Wang said, adding that simply handing out weapons to citizens does not make them adequate as troops.
Photo: Reuters
The majority of Taiwan’s 2.5 million reservists lack training, and the government should improve reservist instruction, he said.
The military’s first-wave reservists, numbered at 300,000, should be fully trained and on standby at all times, he said.
First-wave reservists are those expected to join the standing military force when an enemy launches a first strike against Taiwan.
A nation must have enough reservists to call on if total mobilization is required, DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said.
He also called for reservist training on a regular rotation and said that the military should consider expanding the reservist pool.
Institute for National Defense and Security Research senior analyst Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said Taiwan’s current “combat reservists” system only accepts those who retired after volunteering to serve in the military.
Relaxing standards would allow those who previously underwent mandatory service to join, he said, adding that the government should reinstate mandatory service of nine months to one year.
If this proves difficult, four months of service would suffice, provided there is regular recall training, he said.
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