National Defense. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch07 national defense

Keelung-class destroyers field the ROC Navy’s most advanced surface-to-air missiles, which have a range of up to 167 km. (Courtesy of the Military News Agency)

07 四校OK (spelling and indexed) 2.indd 90 2011/10/18 12:32:38 AM

At a Glance

For the past six decades, the Republic of China has faced a se-rious military threat from mainland China. Although tensions have eased and cross-strait relations have improved since President Ma Ying-jeou came into office in May 2008, the

mainland has deployed over 1,300 missiles against Taiwan and regular-ly carries out exercises simulating an attack on the island. The ROC Armed Forces, therefore, maintain the level of preparedness necessary to defend against any would-be invader.

The military is undergoing a transformation into an all-volunteer force, a process that will be completed by 2014. Moreover, it has been seeking to upgrade its fighting capabilities through procurement of advanced weaponry.

• Procuringanddevelopingmodernweaponry

• Buildinganall-volunteerforce

• Bolsteringdisasterresponsemeasures

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Strategic LocationStraddlingtheTropicofCancer,Taiwan

issituatedbetweenJapanandthePhilip-pines and separated from the coast ofmainlandChinabytheTaiwanStrait(seemaps in the opening pages of the Year-book).PeaceacrossthestraitiscriticaltostabilityinEastAsia.Thestraitisoneoftheworld’sbusiesttransportationarteries,withhundredsofcommercialvesselsply-ing itswaters everyday,while hundredsof civilian aircraft fly through Taiwan’sairspace. Meanwhile, it is believed thatinitsvicinityliecommerciallysignificantsubseaoilandgasdeposits.

Military ThreatAs discussed in Chapters 3 and 6

(“History” and “Cross-strait Relations”),sovereignty disputes between the twosidesof theTaiwanStrait havepersistedsince 1949, when the government of theRepublic of China relocated from Nan-jing in mainland China toTaipei臺北 inTaiwanandtheChineseCommunistPartyestablisheditsgovernmentinBeijing.

Despite a recent easing of tensionsbetween Taiwan and mainland Chinathanks to cross-strait talks on economicand other types of cooperation since thecurrentadministrationtookofficeinMay2008, Beijing continues to pose a majormilitarythreattonationalsecurity.

In just the last decade, the mainlandhas greatly enhanced its warfighting ca-pabilities. With 40 satellites in orbit, itcan conduct visual and electronic recon-naissance, communications, navigation,meteorological monitoring and technicalexperiments. The People’s LiberationArmy(PLA)SecondArtilleryCorpsover-sees an arsenal of short-, medium- andlong-rangeballisticandcruisemissiles.Atpresent, roughly 1,300 short-range mis-sileshavebeendeployedagainstTaiwan.

The PLA has established a cyberand electronic warfare command whichdevelopscomputervirusestoattackcom-putersystemsandnetworks.ThePLAAirForce has deployed roughly 700 fight-erswithin600nauticalmiles ofTaiwan.Some are capable of aerial refueling,and can support combat operations intheSouthChinaSeaandagainstTaiwan.Shipsof thePLANavyhavemodernairdefensecapabilities,cancarryoutstrikesagainst surface and subsurface targets,partiallyblockTaiwan’ssealinesofcom-munication,anddeterforeignnavies.

Defense PostureThe ROC maintains Armed Forces

strictly as a credibledeterrent, todefendits free and democratic society from ex-ternal aggression and to promote peaceandprosperityintheAsia-Pacific.

Atthesametime,theROCisworkingtobuildasoundfoundationforpeacebypromoting dialogue and normalizationof economic and cultural relations withthe mainland as well as free movementofpeopleacrosstheTaiwanStrait.Ithas

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also voiced support for regional securitycooperationandtheestablishmentofcon-fidence-buildingmeasuresbetweenTaipeiandBeijing.

TheROCgovernmentiscommittedtoupgrading the nation’s defense capabili-tiesinatimelymannerbymakingessen-tial purchases of military hardware suchas aircraft, naval craft, missile systemsand C4ISR (command, control, commu-nications,computer,intelligence,surveil-lance and reconnaissance) equipment.At the same time, it strives to enhancethe nation’s self-reliance by boostingdefense-relatedR&Dandmanufacturing.

International security cooperation isalsoanimportantaspectofROCdefensepolicy. Forms of collaboration includetechnical exchanges, sharing of intel-ligence, training of foreign personnel inTaiwanandtrainingofROCmilitaryanddefense-relatedcivilianpersonnelinothercountries.Further,ROCfinancialauthori-ties cooperate with organizations thatcombatmoney-launderingtodenyterror-istgroupsaccesstofunding.

Employing technological advancesandnewstrategiesformaximizingdefensecapabilities, the ROC Armed Forces arebecominganall-volunteerorganization.Inordertoattractandretainthehighlycom-petent, highly motivated people needed,pay raises and enhanced benefits for ca-reersoldiersarebeinginstituted.

Infiscalyear2010,thedefensebudgetwas over US$9.40 billion, or 17.34 per-centofthegeneralbudgetand,takingintoaccount exchange-rate fluctuations, in-creasedtoaboutUS$9.98billionin2011.

Defense ReportsAsstipulatedintheNationalDefense

Act 國防法, the Ministry of National De-fense(MND)annuallypublishesareportonmainlandChina’smilitary forces中共

軍力報告書,areportonthefive-yearROC

ArmedForcesbuildupprogram中華民國五

年兵力整建andanadministrativereport施政計畫報告whichitsubmits,togetherwithits budget plan, to the Legislative Yuanfor review.TheMNDalsopublishes theNational Defense Report國防報告書bien-niallytoinformthepublicofthegovern-ment’s defense policies. In accordancewith the Act, the MND also submits aQuadrennial Defense Review(QDR)四年

期國防總檢討 to the Legislature within 10months of the start of each presidentialterm.Thelatestbiennialreportandquad-rennial review were published, respec-tively,inAugust2011andMarch2009.

Command StructureAsstipulatedbytheROCConstitution

and the National DefenseAct, the presi-dentiscommander-in-chiefoftheArmedForces, empowered to give direct ordersto the minister of national defense. Thedefenseminister,inturn,transmitsordersto theChiefof theGeneralStaff參謀總長forexecution.

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Thepresidentalsoservesaschairmanof the National Security Council (NSC)國家安全會議. The NSC is mandated tomake recommendations for the presi-dent’s reference in decision-making onmatters critical to the national interest.NSCmembersincludethevicepresident,the premier, the heads of key ministries,the chief of the General Staff, the NSCsecretary-general,andthedirector-generalof the National Security Bureau 國家安全

局 undertheNSC.With respect to most peacetime ad-

ministrative matters, the MND makesrecommendations to the Executive YuanCouncil(Cabinet)headedbythepremier,which finalizes decisions and supervisestheir implementation. The Legislature isempowered to ask MND officials to ap-pear before its committees and plenarysessions. Defense policy may be influ-enced by the Legislature through exer-ciseofitspowertomodifytheCabinet’sbudgetproposals.

Armed ForcesWithbasesatlocationsaroundTaiwan

and on smaller islands, the Army safe-guards areas of strategic importance. Italsoworkstoenhancetheeffectivenessofspecialandjointoperationsandtocreatea more agile land-based defense force.The Navy conducts maritime patrols tomaintainsecurityintheROC’sterritorialwaters.ItcoordinateswiththeArmyandtheAirForcetodetermaritimeblockadesor attacks and secure Taiwan’s primarysealanes.Rapiddeploymentandstandoffstrike capabilities are among its focusesof development. The Air Force’s primemission is to safeguard the nation’s air-space.Itcontinuestostrengthenitscapa-bilities toprovideearlywarning,preventenemyattacksand, shouldattacksoccur,executecounterstrikes.

Additionalunitsof theArmedForcesthatplaycombatrolesincludetheMissileCommand飛彈指揮部 andtheInformationand ElectronicWarfare Command資電作

戰指揮部 of the General Staff Headquar-ters 國防部參謀本部. The former monitorsTaiwan’s territorial waters and airspaceintimesofpeaceandcoordinatesmissiledefense in times of war. The latter pre-ventscyberattacksonmilitarycomputersystems and safeguards the security andeffectiveness of military command andcontrolsystems.

Other military organizations play es-sentialsupportroles:

The Combined Logistics Command• 聯

合後勤司令部 providessupply,equipmentmaintenance and transport services toallbranchesoftheArmedForces.TheReserveCommand• 後備司令部 con-ductsbasictrainingofnewrecruitsandemergency mobilization exercises.Af-ter being discharged from active duty,allconscriptsbecomereservistsandarerequired to periodically report to theirlocal reserve units.At present, reserv-iststotalaround2.84million.The Military Police Command• 憲兵司

令部 enforcesmilitary rulesand regula-tions;providessecurityforthepresident,vice president and candidates for thetwo offices during election campaigns;providessupportformilitaryoperations;conductsspecialsecurityandanti-terroroperations; and, when necessary, coop-erateswithcivilianpolice.

As reported in the 2009 QDR, theforegoingthreecommandsandtheirfunc-tionswillbeintegratedintotheArmy,theAirForceandtheNavyby2014.

And,whiletheArmedForces’primarymission is toprotect thenation fromex-ternalaggression,anotherrolegiventheminrecentamendmentstotheDisasterPre-ventionandProtectionAct災害防救法 istoperform rapid-response rescue and relief

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operations in times of natural disaster (see box “Rescue and Relief Work”).

Weapon System UpgradesThe Armed Forces’ arms procurement

programs focus mainly on boosting their anti-blockade capabilities and deploy-ment flexibility. In October 2008, the U.S. government approved US$6.43 billion worth of weapons sales to Taiwan. The package includes AH-64D Apache Long-bow attack helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles, Harpoon Block II submarine-launched anti-ship missiles, Javelin anti-tank missiles and system upgrades for E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft.

In January 2010, the United States ap-proved an additional arms package valued at approximately US$6.4 billion, includ-ing UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, Osprey-class mine hunting ships, Harpoon Block II telemetry missiles, and multifunctional information distribution systems.

In August 2010, three commercial arms sales related to Taiwan’s air defense radar system and upgrades of existing radars on Taiwan’s Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) 經國號戰機 were approved by the U.S. government. Taiwan continues to urge the United States to ex-pedite the sale of F-16 C/D fighter jets to bolster the island’s defense.

Defense IndustryDefense procurement is conducted

with the development of the domestic de-fense industry in mind. The National De-fense Act mandates that priority be given to acquisition of domestically manufac-tured equipment. It further requires that, insofar as possible, procurements from abroad be tied to technology transfers. Domestic defense-related enterprises

and institutions have a high degree of technological sophistication in the areas of aviation, missilery, electronics and materials technologies.

The MND’s Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology 中山科學研

究院, Taiwan’s leading institution for defense R&D, engages in the develop-ment, management and integration of advanced weapon systems. Among those that have been deployed are Sky Bow I and II surface-to-air missiles, Sky Sword I and II air-to-air missiles, Hsiung Feng 雄風 I, II and III anti-ship missiles, the Thunderbolt-2000 multiple rocket launch-er, and the Worker Bees VI multiple rock-et launcher. Its unmanned aerial vehicles saw their first service in 2011.

Meanwhile, the MND Arsenal Readi-ness Development Center 兵工整備發展中心 has developed the agile, 8-wheel “Clouded Leopard” 雲豹裝甲車 armored vehicle. The center has also produced three models of the CM-11 “Brave Tiger” tank 勇虎戰車, a modified version of the U.S. M48 “Patton” tank, and the CM-21 armored personnel carrier based on the U.S. M113. All of these vehicles are currently in service.

The state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) 漢翔航空工

業股份有限公司 is internationally recog-nized as a top-quality manufacturer and highly regarded for its R&D in the field of aviation. It designed and produced, for example, the Ching-kuo IDF, which has been a mainstay of the ROC Air Force since the late 1990s. Twin-seat, upgraded models entered service in the 2000s. Other aircraft produced include the XA-3 attack fighter jet, AT-3 Advanced Jet Trainer and T-CH-1 Basic Trainer. Aside from cooperating with Boeing and Airbus to produce commercial planes, the AIDC has worked with Northrop Grumman Corp. to produce F-5E/F Tiger II fighters and with Bell Helicopter Textron Co. on UH-1H helicopters.

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Personnel and Conditions of Service

There are two categories of nationaldefense personnel: civilian and military.Civilian personnel are recruited throughnationalexaminationsandamoreflexibleopen selection process, while militarypersonnelare inducted throughconscrip-tionandvoluntaryenlistment.

Over the years, measures have beentakentocreateamorestreamlined,moreeffective fighting force consisting of anincreasingly higher proportion of careerprofessionals. The total number of per-sonnel in the Armed Forces has beenslimmeddownto275,000.Currentlyover50percentofthenation’ssoldiersareca-reermilitarypersonnel.

According to the 2009 QDR, theMND plans to further reduce personnelto215,000by2014.It isanticipatedthattheproportionofvolunteerswillincreaseby10percentagepointsannuallybetweennow and that year, thereby largely com-pleting the transition to an all-volunteerforce. When the process is complete,male citizenswill still be required to re-ceivefourmonths’basicmilitarytrainingandbecomereservists.

At present, all male ROC citizens ofsound body and mind are obligated to

completeatermofmilitaryserviceattheearliest available opportunity betweenJanuary 1 of the year immediately fol-lowingtheyearoftheir18thbirthdayandDecember 31 of the year of their 36thbirthday. High school, vocational highschool and university students can defermilitaryserviceuntilaftergraduation.

With increasing numbers of profes-sional personnel in Taiwan’s regularforces,theperiodofcompulsorymilitaryservicewascutfrom14to12months inJanuary2008.

Exemptions and Alternative Service

Individualsinpoorhealthareexemptfrom military service. Draftees withheavy family responsibilities or whoare outstanding athletes may apply for ashortened service period of two monthsor less.All draftees are eligible to applyfor alternative service positions in lieuofmilitaryservice,asprovidedforintheEnforcement Statute for Substitute Serv-ices 替代役實施條例 of 2000. Followinga short period of basic military training,thoseadmittedtotheprogramareplacedaccordingtotheirinterestsandskills.

Alternativeservice falls into twocat-egories:generalandR&D.Drafteeswhoopt for general alternative service can

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An All-volunteer Force

The transitionfromamixedvolunteer-conscriptsystemtoanall-volunteermilitary istakingplaceinthreestages:

Thefirststage(May20,2008toJune30,2009)involvedoverallplanningfortheMNDrestructuring;revisingrelatedlegislation;anddrawingupsuchmeasuresasthoseconcern-ingremuneration,training,barracksconstructionandreservistmobilization.

The second stage (July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010) was geared toward enactingcomplementarylawsandregulationsbasedontheprogressachievedinthefirstphase.Re-latedorganizationalinfrastructurewastobereadybytheperiod’send,withplansforremu-nerationandbenefitsimplementedaheadofscheduleifpracticable.

During the thirdstage (January1,2011 toDecember31,2014),all relatedobjectivesaretobeaccomplished,resultinginanall-volunteerforce.


serve in a wide variety of positions, in-cluding security guard, firefighter, socialworker, medical personnel, agriculturaladvisor or worker, teacher, surveyor andoverseas humanitarian project worker.Draftees performing R&D alternativeservice,whomusthaveatleastamaster’sdegree, work for three years at MND-approvedgovernment institutions,publicorprivateresearchcenters,oruniversities.

Military EducationThe MND provides three general

categories of education to prospectiveprofessional soldiers and those in activeservice: pre-service education at MND-operated college- and high school-levelmilitaryacademies; in-serviceeducation;andadvancededucation.

Students who receive undergraduatedegrees from college-level academiesare on track to become commissionedofficers, while those who wish to beginactiveserviceaftergraduatingfromhigh

school-levelacademiesbecomenoncom-missionedofficers.

Thereafter, graduates of either levelreceivefurther,specializedtraininginar-eassuchasinfantrytacticsandcommand,operation or maintenance of naval craftor aircraft, use of weapon systems, civilengineering, communications or aspectsofbasemanagement.

Throughout their careers, ROC pro-fessional soldiers are provided withabundant opportunities—and, in someinstances, are even required—toperiodi-cally undergo supplementary in-serviceeducationandtrainingtohonetheirskillsandleadershipcapabilities.

Those who aspire to higher levels ofresponsibilitymustsuccessfullycompleteadvanced levels of education. Commis-sioned officers may pursue master’s anddoctoral programs at either military orcivilianinstitutesofhigherlearning.Can-didates for the ranksofcolonelormajorgeneral(andtheirnavalequivalents)mustcomplete a special course of studies at

The ROC Military Academy, founded by Sun Yat-sen, has for decades trained officers who have served as the backbone of the ROC military. (Courtesy of the ROC Military Academy)

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NationalDefenseUniversity國防大學 thatfocuses on advanced leadership, analyti-cal and management skills. Noncom-missioned officers and career soldiers oflower rank are similarly encouraged topursuestudiesleadingtohigherdegrees.

Homeland SecurityIn addition to combat preparedness,

the ROC government attaches great im-portance to other aspects of homeland

security. These broadly include prevent-ingterroristattacks;gatheringandsharingintelligencewithfriendlynations;manag-ingthecountry’sborders;protectingcriti-cal infrastructure;maintainingoperationsof essential public- and private-sectorfunctions in timesofcrisis;safeguardingInternetsecurity;andcoordinatingdisas-terresponseandmanagement.

The Wan An Exercises 萬安演習, aseriesofcivildefensedrills,areheldan-nuallytobuttresstheemergencyresponse

Military personnel clean up a flooded street in Pingtung County’s Linbian Township following the devastating Typhoon Morakot of 2009. (Huang Fu-ren)

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Rescue and Relief Work

AfterTyphoonMorakot莫拉克颱風ravagedTaiwaninAugust2009,lawswereamendedtomakedisasterpreventionandrescueacoremissionoftheArmedForces.OnSeptember19, 2010, Typhoon Fanapi 凡那比颱風 pounded eastern and southern Taiwan with strongwindsandheavyrainfall,causingfloodingandsignificantagriculturallossesinHualien花蓮,KaohsiungandPingtung屏東.Inonedayalone,QiaotouDistrict橋頭區ofKaohsiungCityreceivedasmuchas850millimetersofrain.Tohelpwiththepost-stormrecovery,betweenSeptember19andOctober1,theMNDconducted53,821personnelsorties,involving2,979groundvehicle,77boatand22aircraftmissions,evacuating7,750residentsandremoving12,055tonnesofdebris.

Amonthlater,onOctober24,TyphoonMegi梅姬颱風hitnortheasternTaiwanheavily,killing38people.Yilan宜蘭Countywasthehardesthit,withmassivelandslidestrappingsome400passengersin32vehicles.TheMNDarrangedfor45,502personnelsorties,in-cluding832groundvehicle,26boatand165aircraftrescuemissions.


capability of local governments and themilitary for such contingencies as fires,terroristattacksandnuclearaccidents.

TheExecutiveYuanbeganconveningjoint policy conferences in 2007 to inte-grate domestic disaster prevention andreliefmechanisms,communicablediseasecontrol, counterterrorism operations andotheremergencyresponsesystems.ItalsosetuptheCounterterrorismOffice行政院

反恐怖行動管控辦公室 in 2004, which wasreorganized as the Office of Homeland

Security行政院國土安全辦公室 in2007.Ad-ditionally, after the devastation wreakedby Typhoon Morakot in August 2009,the Executive Yuan set up the Office ofDisaster Management 行政院災害防救辦公

室 in2010,withwhichtheArmedForcescloselycooperate.

Since2006,theCoastGuardAdminis-tration 行政院海岸巡防署 has implementedtheAnHaiProject安海專案tocrackdownonsmugglingofgoodsandtraffickingofarms,drugsandpersons.

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• Ministry of National Defense: http://www.mnd.gov.tw

• National Defense Report: http://www.mnd.gov.tw/2011mndreport/

• National Security Bureau: http://www.nsb.gov.tw

• Aerospace Industrial Development Corp.: http://www.aidc.com.tw

• Coast Guard Administration: http://www.cga.gov.tw

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National Defense. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch07 national defense

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