Civilian control of military
With Vice President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party soon to be the new Republic of China president, the Ministry of National Defense is set for reform.
A civilian minister would play an important role in national defense, and the major change from traditional military control to civilian control would lead to both challenges and opportunities for Taiwan’s defense.
Civilian ministers know how to integrate new mindsets and diverse backgrounds into national defense. That is the biggest advantage that they bring.
Traditional thinking on national defense has tended to prefer a minister who used to serve in the armed forces and has a comprehensive knowledge of the military.
In this era of international tensions, national security challenges not only concern the armed forces, but also involve diplomacy and law.
Civilian ministers are more likely to provide thoughtful solutions to these challenges.
However, civilian ministers do have some weaknesses. They do not always have enough understanding of the armed forces.
Therefore, they tend to rely on support and professional advice from the military.
Civilian ministers also need to spend time fostering trust between themselves and the military.
That could be a long process.
Amid rising Taiwan-China tensions, a civilian minister could improve the situation across the strait.
With China continuing to strengthen its armed forces and posing increasingly serious threats to Taiwan, it is time that a civilian minister takes a proactive approach and ensures that effective policies to guard Taiwan are implemented.
Local media have reported that National Security Council Secretary-General Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is to be the new minister of national defense when Lai takes office.
If true, Taiwan would have more opportunities to cooperate with the US on national security, since Koo has rich experience in international affairs and diplomacy.
On the other hand, Koo must work with the military to ensure that national defense is resilient to any kind of threat.
Civilian control over the military provides a new vision for Taiwan’s defense. Civilians can solve problems with a different mindset than traditional thinking, and that helps bolster Taiwan’s national defense.
However, civilians still need to overcome difficulties, including insufficient knowledge about the military, and the need to build trust and legitimacy in order to lead.
Through hard work and cooperation, a civilian minister could finally make an impactful contribution to modernizing and upgrading national defense.
Chieh Jiu
Taipei
The return of US president-elect Donald Trump to the White House has injected a new wave of anxiety across the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwan, an island whose very survival depends on the delicate and strategic support from the US, Trump’s election victory raises a cascade of questions and fears about what lies ahead. His approach to international relations — grounded in transactional and unpredictable policies — poses unique risks to Taiwan’s stability, economic prosperity and geopolitical standing. Trump’s first term left a complicated legacy in the region. On the one hand, his administration ramped up arms sales to Taiwan and sanctioned
The Taiwanese have proven to be resilient in the face of disasters and they have resisted continuing attempts to subordinate Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Nonetheless, the Taiwanese can and should do more to become even more resilient and to be better prepared for resistance should the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) try to annex Taiwan. President William Lai (賴清德) argues that the Taiwanese should determine their own fate. This position continues the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) tradition of opposing the CCP’s annexation of Taiwan. Lai challenges the CCP’s narrative by stating that Taiwan is not subordinate to the
US president-elect Donald Trump is to return to the White House in January, but his second term would surely be different from the first. His Cabinet would not include former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former US national security adviser John Bolton, both outspoken supporters of Taiwan. Trump is expected to implement a transactionalist approach to Taiwan, including measures such as demanding that Taiwan pay a high “protection fee” or requiring that Taiwan’s military spending amount to at least 10 percent of its GDP. However, if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) invades Taiwan, it is doubtful that Trump would dispatch
World leaders are preparing themselves for a second Donald Trump presidency. Some leaders know more or less where he stands: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy knows that a difficult negotiation process is about to be forced on his country, and the leaders of NATO countries would be well aware of being complacent about US military support with Trump in power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would likely be feeling relief as the constraints placed on him by the US President Joe Biden administration would finally be released. However, for President William Lai (賴清德) the calculation is not simple. Trump has surrounded himself
RSS