Taipei: Chris Chenoa former captain in TaiwanThe U.S. Army spent a lot of time waiting during its week-long training for the reservists in June. Waiting for the meeting, waiting for lunch, waiting for training, he said.
The course, part of Taiwan’s efforts to prevent a Chinese invasion, was filled with 200 reservists for an instructor.
“All it took was listening, there was little time to actually complete the instructions,” Chen said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscores the importance of mobilizing civilians at the time of the attack, as Ukraine’s reserve forces helped deter the invaders. About halfway across the world, it has exposed Taiwan’s weaknesses in mainly two areas: its reserves and civil defense forces.
Although an invasion does not seem imminent, China’s recent large-scale military exercises in response to a US House speaker’s visit Nancy Pelosic Taiwan has made the government in Taipei more aware than ever of the harsh force behind Beijing’s rhetoric about bringing the self-governing island under its control.
Experts said the Civil Defense and Reserve Forces have a significant deterrent effect, indicating to a potential attacker that the risks of invasion are high. Even before the invasion of Ukraine in March, Taiwan was working on reforming both. The question is whether this will be enough.
Taiwan’s reserves are meant to support its 188,000-man army, which is 90 percent volunteer and 10 percent men serving their four months of mandatory military service. On paper, the 2.3 million reservists enable Taiwan to match China’s 2 million-strong military.
Nevertheless, the reserve system has long been criticized. many, such as Chainfelt that the seven days of training for most of the ex-servicemen was a waste of time which did not prepare them adequately.
The number of war-ready reservists who could immediately engage in frontline combat is only around 300,000, said wang Ting-yu, a legislator from the governing Democratic Progressive Party, who serves on the Defense Committee in the legislature.
“In Ukraine, if it were torn apart in the first three days of the war, no matter how strong your army is, you would not have fought the war,” Wang said. “A resilient society can meet this challenge. So that when you are met with disasters and war, you are not isolated.”
Taiwan in January reorganized its reserve system, now coordinated by a new body called the All Out Defense Mobilization Agency, which will also handle the civil defense system in case of an emergency.
A major change was the pilot launch of more intensive, two weeks of training instead of the standard one week, which would eventually be expanded to 300,000 battle-ready reservists. Wang said the rest of the reservoir could play a more defensive role, such as a rescue bridge.
Dennis Shea In May he joined modified training for two weeks at an abandoned construction site on Taiwan’s north coast. It was raining half the time, he said. Otherwise, it was cooking hot. The training coincided with the peak of a Covid-19 outbreak. Wearing raincoats and face masks, the reservoirs dug trenches and practiced mortar shelling and marching.
“Your whole body was covered with mud, and there was mud in your shoes too,” Xi said.
Still, he said he received more firing time than his mandatory four-month service three years ago and felt inspired as senior officers practiced with him.
“The main thing is that when it’s time to serve your country, you have to do it,” he said.
There are also plans to reform the Civil Defense Force, Wang said, although much of the discussion has not yet become widely publicized.
The Civil Defense Force, which falls under the National Police Agency, survives an era of authoritarian rule before Taiwan transitioned to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s. Its members are mostly people who are too old to qualify as reservists but still want to serve.
“It hasn’t followed the passage of time and hasn’t kept pace with our fighting ability,” Wang said.
Planned changes include a requirement to have security guards employed by some of Taiwan’s largest companies and the inclusion of women who are not required to serve in the military.
According to a survey by Kuan-Chen Lee at the National Defense and Security Research Institute affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, about 73 percent of Taiwanese people say they would be willing to fight for Taiwan if China were to invade, a number that remains constant.
The Ukraine war, at least initially, shook some confidence in America’s willingness to assist Taiwan in the event of an attack. While 57 percent said last September they believed that if China did invade, the US would “definitely or probably” send troops, that dropped to 40 percent in March.
The US policy of strategic ambiguity leaves it unclear whether the US will intervene militarily. Pelosi said during her visit that she wanted to help protect the island.
In addition to government efforts, some citizens have been motivated to do more on their own.
Last week, the founder of Taiwanese chip maker United Microelectronics, robert tsaoannounced that it would donate 1 billion New Taiwan dollars (USD 32.8 million) for the training of a 3-million-man defense force made up of civilians.
More than 1,000 people have attended lectures on civil defense with Open Knowledge Taiwan, according to th skiA tech entrepreneur who delivers lectures and conducts civil defense courses with volunteer groups, aiming to make specialized knowledge accessible to the public.
Others have signed up for first aid training, and some have signed up for firearms courses, although widespread gun ownership with air guns is not permitted as in Taiwan’s laws.
These efforts require government coordination, Martin said. yangSpokesperson for the Taiwan Military and Police Tactical Research and Development Association, a group of former police officers and soldiers interested in the defense of Taiwan.
“The civil sector has this idea and they are using their energy, but I think the government needs to come out and coordinate it, so that energy is not wasted,” he said.
Yang criticizes the government’s civil defense exercise, citing the annual exercise in which civilians practice asylum-seeking.
Yang said, “When you do this exercise, you want to consider that people will be hiding in the subway, they need water and food, and may need medical attention. You probably have hundreds or thousands of people. Must be hiding,” Yang said. “But does the water and the food come?”
In July, the government of New Taipei City, along with its disaster services and the Ministry of Defense, conducted a large-scale drill. The first included urban warfare, such as how first responders would react to an attack on a railway station or port.
The exercise had the spirit of a carnival rather than a serious preparation for an invasion. An MC enthusiastically greeted the guests as Korean pop music played. Recruiters for the Army, Coast Guard and military police set up booths to lure visitors, offering tchotchkes such as toy grenade keychains.
Chang Chia-rong guided the VIP guests to their seats. The 20-year-old expressed a desire to defend Taiwan, although she did not feel too concerned about Chinese aggression.
“If there is a volunteer squad, I hope I can join and defend my country,” she said. “If there’s a need, I’m ready to attend.”
The course, part of Taiwan’s efforts to prevent a Chinese invasion, was filled with 200 reservists for an instructor.
“All it took was listening, there was little time to actually complete the instructions,” Chen said.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscores the importance of mobilizing civilians at the time of the attack, as Ukraine’s reserve forces helped deter the invaders. About halfway across the world, it has exposed Taiwan’s weaknesses in mainly two areas: its reserves and civil defense forces.
Although an invasion does not seem imminent, China’s recent large-scale military exercises in response to a US House speaker’s visit Nancy Pelosic Taiwan has made the government in Taipei more aware than ever of the harsh force behind Beijing’s rhetoric about bringing the self-governing island under its control.
Experts said the Civil Defense and Reserve Forces have a significant deterrent effect, indicating to a potential attacker that the risks of invasion are high. Even before the invasion of Ukraine in March, Taiwan was working on reforming both. The question is whether this will be enough.
Taiwan’s reserves are meant to support its 188,000-man army, which is 90 percent volunteer and 10 percent men serving their four months of mandatory military service. On paper, the 2.3 million reservists enable Taiwan to match China’s 2 million-strong military.
Nevertheless, the reserve system has long been criticized. many, such as Chainfelt that the seven days of training for most of the ex-servicemen was a waste of time which did not prepare them adequately.
The number of war-ready reservists who could immediately engage in frontline combat is only around 300,000, said wang Ting-yu, a legislator from the governing Democratic Progressive Party, who serves on the Defense Committee in the legislature.
“In Ukraine, if it were torn apart in the first three days of the war, no matter how strong your army is, you would not have fought the war,” Wang said. “A resilient society can meet this challenge. So that when you are met with disasters and war, you are not isolated.”
Taiwan in January reorganized its reserve system, now coordinated by a new body called the All Out Defense Mobilization Agency, which will also handle the civil defense system in case of an emergency.
A major change was the pilot launch of more intensive, two weeks of training instead of the standard one week, which would eventually be expanded to 300,000 battle-ready reservists. Wang said the rest of the reservoir could play a more defensive role, such as a rescue bridge.
Dennis Shea In May he joined modified training for two weeks at an abandoned construction site on Taiwan’s north coast. It was raining half the time, he said. Otherwise, it was cooking hot. The training coincided with the peak of a Covid-19 outbreak. Wearing raincoats and face masks, the reservoirs dug trenches and practiced mortar shelling and marching.
“Your whole body was covered with mud, and there was mud in your shoes too,” Xi said.
Still, he said he received more firing time than his mandatory four-month service three years ago and felt inspired as senior officers practiced with him.
“The main thing is that when it’s time to serve your country, you have to do it,” he said.
There are also plans to reform the Civil Defense Force, Wang said, although much of the discussion has not yet become widely publicized.
The Civil Defense Force, which falls under the National Police Agency, survives an era of authoritarian rule before Taiwan transitioned to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s. Its members are mostly people who are too old to qualify as reservists but still want to serve.
“It hasn’t followed the passage of time and hasn’t kept pace with our fighting ability,” Wang said.
Planned changes include a requirement to have security guards employed by some of Taiwan’s largest companies and the inclusion of women who are not required to serve in the military.
According to a survey by Kuan-Chen Lee at the National Defense and Security Research Institute affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, about 73 percent of Taiwanese people say they would be willing to fight for Taiwan if China were to invade, a number that remains constant.
The Ukraine war, at least initially, shook some confidence in America’s willingness to assist Taiwan in the event of an attack. While 57 percent said last September they believed that if China did invade, the US would “definitely or probably” send troops, that dropped to 40 percent in March.
The US policy of strategic ambiguity leaves it unclear whether the US will intervene militarily. Pelosi said during her visit that she wanted to help protect the island.
In addition to government efforts, some citizens have been motivated to do more on their own.
Last week, the founder of Taiwanese chip maker United Microelectronics, robert tsaoannounced that it would donate 1 billion New Taiwan dollars (USD 32.8 million) for the training of a 3-million-man defense force made up of civilians.
More than 1,000 people have attended lectures on civil defense with Open Knowledge Taiwan, according to th skiA tech entrepreneur who delivers lectures and conducts civil defense courses with volunteer groups, aiming to make specialized knowledge accessible to the public.
Others have signed up for first aid training, and some have signed up for firearms courses, although widespread gun ownership with air guns is not permitted as in Taiwan’s laws.
These efforts require government coordination, Martin said. yangSpokesperson for the Taiwan Military and Police Tactical Research and Development Association, a group of former police officers and soldiers interested in the defense of Taiwan.
“The civil sector has this idea and they are using their energy, but I think the government needs to come out and coordinate it, so that energy is not wasted,” he said.
Yang criticizes the government’s civil defense exercise, citing the annual exercise in which civilians practice asylum-seeking.
Yang said, “When you do this exercise, you want to consider that people will be hiding in the subway, they need water and food, and may need medical attention. You probably have hundreds or thousands of people. Must be hiding,” Yang said. “But does the water and the food come?”
In July, the government of New Taipei City, along with its disaster services and the Ministry of Defense, conducted a large-scale drill. The first included urban warfare, such as how first responders would react to an attack on a railway station or port.
The exercise had the spirit of a carnival rather than a serious preparation for an invasion. An MC enthusiastically greeted the guests as Korean pop music played. Recruiters for the Army, Coast Guard and military police set up booths to lure visitors, offering tchotchkes such as toy grenade keychains.
Chang Chia-rong guided the VIP guests to their seats. The 20-year-old expressed a desire to defend Taiwan, although she did not feel too concerned about Chinese aggression.
“If there is a volunteer squad, I hope I can join and defend my country,” she said. “If there’s a need, I’m ready to attend.”