Taiwanese armed forces must adapt their training and concepts to modern warfare, a military preparedness advocate said yesterday after a government report revealed that most reservists do not receive refresher training.
The All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency’s refresher training program has trained less than 35 percent of eligible reservists since its establishment in 2020, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a recent report.
The Ministry of National Defense said the agency’s target is to establish five new training brigades and three reservist training centers to increase training capacity to 29,000 troops.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Asked for comment, Kuma Academy co-founder and chief executive officer Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) yesterday said that rapidly updating doctrine and techniques is crucial to maintaining military effectiveness amid constant technological change.
Traditional reservist training programs, which emphasize mobilization speed at the expense of giving troops training time, facilities and resources, have been rendered obsolete by sophisticated weapon systems and tactics, he said.
The culture in the nation’s armed forces sees little need to retrain reservists beyond physical training and basic marksmanship, but modern infantry standards have evolved to operating anti-tank guided missiles and other complex weapons systems, he said.
The nation’s basic and reservist training programs have not yet recognized the importance of effectively managing the flow of tactical information and conducting synchronized maneuvers across organizational lines, Ho said.
The military’s training program has neglected military education beyond urging troops to be mindful of the need for secrecy, which does not meet the demands of the modern informational environment, he said.
Traditional spying awareness education about guarding military secrets is insufficient when military secrets could be easily leaked by unguarded use of devices such as phones and smartwatches, he added.
A new basis for cultivating the nation’s will to resist the enemy and consciousness of the enemy is also needed due to changes in Taiwanese society and politics, he said.
The military’s avoidance of transitional justice reforms have contributed to the continued reliance on ideals and modes of thought that are unsuited for its modern role of being the guardians of democracy, he said.
The military curriculum from 10 years ago is at risk of becoming utterly irrelevant today, he said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS