Taiwan is facing a looming, massive population crisis due to falling birth and immigration rates, an article published by US foreign policy magazine The Diplomat said, adding that the dramatic drop in numbers is creating serious challenges for the nation’s national defense.
Taiwan should respond to increasingly dangerous national defense needs by studying the experiences of Singapore and other nations, and open itself up to foreign service members, it said.
If Taiwan does not do so, it could grow weaker in the face of China’s threats, the article said.
In response, the Ministry of National Defense said that when it comes to military personnel’s service qualifications, it considers the person’s loyalty to the nation and the massive impact they could have on national security.
The ministry said it abides by the Nationality Act (國籍法) and the Public Servant Service Law (公務人員任用法), so people with foreign citizenship are disqualified from holding public office, including joining the armed forces.
Taiwan in January extended the compulsory military service to one year for males born on and after Jan. 1, 2005.
The nation’s military strength cannot be gauged purely in terms of boots on the ground, but should instead consider the nation as a whole, the status of its cross-strait relations and overall developing trends of military power in advanced countries, it said.
The whole world has been impacted by lower birthrates in the past few years and the decline in the number of troops has become an important national security issue. Shifting policy toward “elite troops,” and emphasizing quality over quantity is the way to respond to the military’s needs.
Last year, the UK, France and Germany — among the 20 strongest militaries in the world — did not recruit many military personnel. None of their militaries exceed 180,000.
Another example is Japan, which is ranked seventh-strongest in the world. It has a population of more than 123 million people — five times that of Taiwan — yet Japan maintains its military personnel at about 247,000.
The point is, using “troop numbers” as an indicator of defense capabilities is not suitable for our times.
Previously, the main development trend of militaries around the world was to increase military “quality” to balance out “quantity” to continue bolstering national defense capabilities.
For example, the Australian Defence Force has only about 60,000 active-duty personnel. Many of them are enlisted through foreign recruitment channels, including immigrants. Still, Australia’s Ministry of Defence continues to maintain and research various models of advanced drones and nuclear-powered submarines, as it hopes to create a “small but elite, small but clever, and small but powerful” crack military.
Taiwan’s military service system is one of “concurrent recruitment,” with about 215,000 personnel. The average maintenance number is about 189,000 people — more than Israel’s 169,000.
Israel has risen in military prominence to become one of the strongest militaries in the world. Its success and military superiority are mainly due to its military’s precision targeting of enemy threats, continuously adapting its defense doctrine, keeping its tactics up-to-date, and researching and developing new weapons systems. It also perfected its universal compulsory service system, as well as its national will to fight off invaders.
To sum it up, modern high-tech weaponry is being developed every day. A nation’s military strength no longer depends on how many troops it has, but whether they are of excellent quality. More specifically, even if a nation’s military forces are few, the ultimate key to victory hinges on fighting resolve and sophisticated combat capabilities.
Apart from factors such as the necessity to strike, available personnel or obtainable funding, the Ministry of National Defense should continue to train highly effective elite contingents, and research and develop top-tier, sophisticated weaponry.
How to bolster national cohesiveness and fighting resolve among the public is a much greater task — increasing recruitment pales in comparison.
Yao Chung-yuan is an adjunct professor and former deputy director of the Ministry of National Defense’s strategic planning department.
Translated by Tim Smith
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