26 December 2013

Editorial: Taiwan’s All-Volunteer Military


By Shang-su Wu

Taiwan’s military transformation from conscription to an all-volunteer system will not go well.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has encountered a number of difficulties of recruiting enough professional soldiers to supplement the manpower gap left by the termination of compulsory military service. The MND’s latest report to Taiwan’s parliament reveals poor recruitment levels at roughly 30 percent of the target, between January and November 2013. In infantry and armored units, the recruitment rates are even lower, at just 4 percent and 16 percent, respectively.
As a consequence, the MND has postponed the introduction of the all-volunteer military from 2015 to 2017. Some relevant policies such as increasing salary and looser requirements are proposed by the MND in order to attract more young people to join the armed forces. However, the MND’s ongoing attempts at constructing an all-volunteer military will be unlikely to succeed and will very likely undermine Taiwan’s defense capacity and capability in several ways. 

Read the full story at The Diplomat