Defense officials should address flaws in the military observed by US officials, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said yesterday, after the Financial Times reported that a “low-key” delegation visited Taipei last month to assess the nation’s forces and the potential for closer cooperation.
The visiting US advisers found the Taiwanese military proficient at a tactical level, but lacking the ability to think strategically, the report said.
However, they assessed efforts to be on the right track.
Photo courtesy of the 8th Field Army
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) “has made the difficult and big move to tell the public things need to change and an all-of-society effort is needed to defend their homeland,” the Financial Times quoted a US official as saying. “There will be more progress from here.”
The report suggests that US-Taiwan joint military training and exchange programs are becoming more “open and normalized” with improving bilateral ties, Wang said.
Although Taiwan’s long-term national defense strategy emphasizing deep strikes and multilayered deterrence was adequate, the US delegates observed shortfalls in some capabilities, he said.
Citing an example, he said the armed forces were assessed as utilizing an obsolete model of command and control that needs to be flatter and more distributed, he added.
The armed forces should think about a strategy for maintaining the nation’s military edge, as China’s People’s Liberation Army has revamped its amphibious and airborne assault capabilities, Wang said.
An effective response would require new strategic concepts and military cooperation programs, he said, adding that the Ministry of National Defense and other national security agencies should take heed of the delegation’s assessment.
Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter said that the defense ministry is mulling sending a military delegation to observe the US National Guard for reference in managing and instilling combat effectiveness in Taiwan’s reserve force.
Since Taiwan and the US inked a coast guard memorandum of understanding, bilateral cooperation in military and paramilitary affairs has surged to encompass training, tactics and combat skills, they said, describing the relationship as “present and ongoing.”
Taiwan sends many service members for training in the US, including F-16 pilots and regular army personnel, while special forces and marines are also involved, they said.
The All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency’s decision to appoint a colonel-rank liaison officer to head Taiwan reserve force-US national guard cooperation shows the program has become normalized, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute of National Defense and Security Research.
Taiwan’s reserve force could benefit from collaborating with the US national guard and learning from the latter’s training, institution and culture, he said, adding that the two forces have similar responsibilities of territorial defense and disaster response.
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