Taiwan might double the number of military police, as it seeks to match a planned expansion of the armed forces and counter the threat posed by Chinese decapitation strikes, a defense official said yesterday.
The increase to about 11,000 military police from 5,000 is based on a Military Police Command proposal and would be implemented over the coming years, with the addition of two battalion-sized units, three company-sized units and 818 troops scheduled next year, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The additional battalions and companies would be utilized to police the larger number of troops after conscription was extended to one year, he said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
To arm the new units, the command would order more CM-34 infantry fighting vehicles with 30mm chain guns, Kestrel anti-tank rocket systems, Stinger air defense systems, mortars and small arms, he said.
Asked about the military’s plans to form reserve forces, the official said reserve brigades would be formed for each special municipality and county, except Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, which lack troop numbers.
Instead, the outlying counties would be supported by new reserve units serving functions analogous to defense logistics services centers, he said.
New reserve brigades would be named after the city or county in which they are founded to boost their local identities, as was practiced when the Taichung City Reserve Brigade was formed in February, he said.
The armed forces last year constituted four new reserve brigades and set up the same number of brigades this year, he said.
The Armed Forces Reserve Command is directing recruitment efforts for retired noncommissioned officers to meet the new brigades’ demand for instructors, he said, adding that being stationed near their homes would be an incentive for potential brigade members.
Ongoing efforts to enlist retired noncommissioned officers to become reserve brigade instructors appear to be successful so far, he said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan yesterday staged its first civil defense drill this year in Taichung, focusing on wartime preparation and key infrastructure protection, the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency said.
This year’s civil defense drills are to include 70 percent wartime exercises, up from 50 percent in previous years, while exercises focused on natural disaster response would account for 30 percent, agency Director Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said.
The drills, which would be held in 11 administrative regions, cover two parts: “war games” and “general exercises for scenarios in the real world,” Shen said.
In Taichung, the war games took place at Chiao-jen Elementary School in Wuri District (烏日) at 10am, while the real-world exercises were held at a station of Taichung’s rapid transit system near the High Speed Rail’s Taichung Station at 2pm.
The war games enable local governments to test their plans to respond to challenges during wartime or after natural disasters, Shen said.
City mayors and county commissioners are tasked with coordinating government agencies and the private sector, as well as organizations of rescuers, volunteers, members of local civil defense units and reservists, he added.
The drills are open to the public, the agency said in a statement on Thursday last week.
The agency said it would notify local authorities of its specific plans and locations of civil defense exercises a week before the designated date.
The next civil defense drills are to be held on Thursdays in the next six weeks, starting in Lienchiang County, it said.
After that, drills would be held in Hsinchu City, Taipei, Kinmen County, Taitung County and Penghu County, the agency said.
Hualien County would host exercises on June 8, Keelung on June 15, Tainan on July 25 and Chiayi County on July 27, it said.
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