Former military head calls for quality over quantity in Taiwan reserve force
ROC Central News Agency
06/16/2023 09:34 PM
Taipei June 16 (CNA) Taiwan should overhaul its reservist training system to create a more effective military reserve force rather than maintaining one that is large but "not so useful," Taiwan's former Chief of the General Staff Lee Hsi-min (李喜明) said Friday.
Although Taiwan has a 2 million strong military reserve force, it does not have sufficient equipment, weapons, or trainers for such numbers, which makes the system not particularly useful, according to Lee, who served as Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan's official title) chief of the general staff from 2017-2019, at a news conference held by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation (TSEF) where the 2022-2023 Republic of China National Defense Review was unveiled.
One way to improve the existing reservist system is to adopt Singapore's method by requiring reservists to undergo monthly training conducted over one weekend, in addition to having them attend a 14-day annual training program, according to the review.
A highly mobile and well-trained reserve force would help to alleviate pressure on the military when trying to maintain a sizable regular force but to achieve that goal reforms need to be implemented, Lee said.
He recommended introducing an all-voluntary reserve force system and having volunteers attend a special forces training program, in addition to equipping them with portable weapons such as suicide drones or shoulder-launched Stinger and Javelin missiles.
If one out of 10 active reservists volunteered, the armed forces would have a 200,000-strong reserve force, which when dispersed across Taiwan would be a formidable deterrent, especially if they operate as guerrillas, Lee said.
Addressing how to respond to China's increasing "gray zone" military activities near Taiwan, Lee called for a more level-headed approach and more cost-effective deployments.
Citing the large-scale military exercises China staged around Taiwan in August last year and April this year, Lee said it is impossible for Taiwan to respond to "gray zone" activities on that scale with the traditional approach of shadowing every intruding ship and aircraft.
The same could be said of routine incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) by Chinese military aircraft and ships, which are "coercive" threats meant to intimidate and push up the maintenance and logistical cost of aircraft and vessels that have placed a heavy burden on Taiwan's military, Lee said.
Lee noted that "gray zone" activities are carried out below the threshold of war and called for a more "asymmetric" approach by the military in responding to such threats, for example, by deploying unmanned systems to shadow approaching Chinese aircraft and ships to lower the cost of patrols.
The ROC military should weigh its priorities and pay attention to how it allocates resources to avoid letting the enemy weaken its defenses to the point where it can no longer handle coercive actions, let alone existential threats such as a military invasion or attack, Lee said.
Asked how the armed forces can better respond to a possible scenario in which China's aircraft carriers adopt anti-access/area denial strategies against Taiwan, Lee said it is doubtful China's aircraft carriers were built to invade Taiwan, as they were more likely constructed so Beijing can establish a military presence in other parts of the world in an attempt to reshape the U.S.-led international order.
It would be difficult for China's current fleet of aircraft carriers to match far more advanced U.S. aircraft carriers in the event of war in the Taiwan Strait, Lee said, adding that if China did that, it would risk having its aircraft carriers destroyed by the U.S.
To take Taiwan by force, Beijing will try to block intervention by external forces, and its long-range bombers, submarines and Dong Feng 21D and Dong Feng 26 ballistic missiles are much more capable of achieving that than its aircraft carriers, Lee said.
The 2022-2023 Republic of China National Defense Review is the second review published by TSEF's Center for Peace And Security since China launched large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in August 2022 following a visit to Taiwan by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, TSEF Chairman Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) said at the news conference.
The review covers a range of topics including asymmetrical warfare, reserve forces, defense autonomy, C4ISR and cyberwarfare.
TSEF will deliver copies of the report to the presidential candidates nominated by Taiwan's three major political parties, Huang said.
(By Sean Lin)
Enditem/AW
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