Military of the Republic of China
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| Missing image Rocmnd.gif Insignia of the Republic of China Ministry of National Defense | |
| Military of the Republic of China | |
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| Military manpower | |
| Military age | 19 years of age |
| Availability | males age 19-49: 5,883,828 (2005 est.) |
| Fit for military service | males 4,749,537 (2005 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually | males: 174,173 (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures | |
| Dollar figure | $7.574 billion (2003) |
| Percent of GDP | 2.6% (2004) |
The Republic of China (ROC) maintains a large military establishment, which accounted for 16.8 % of the central budget in FY 2003. The military is historically continuous with the forces that fled to Taiwan with the Kuomintang at the end of the Chinese Civil War.
The military's current foremost mission is the defense of Taiwan, a defense primarily against the People's Republic of China, which is seen as the predominant threat and has not renounced the use of force against the ROC, having made official declarations that it would use force against Taiwan if it "declared independence" (See Political status of Taiwan). Until the 1970s, the military's primary mission was to retake the Mainland.
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Personnel
The ROC's armed forces number approximately 300,000, and reserves reportedly total 3,870,000. Conscription remains universal for qualified males reaching age 18. Force streamlining programs under way since 1997 are combining redundant institutions and steadily reducing the military to 270,000 personnel by 2012. However, even then there would be compulsory basic training for all males reaching 18. As the size of the force decreases, Taipei intends to gradually expand the number of volunteer soldiers with the eventual goal of forming an all volunteer military.
The ROC military's officer corps is generally viewed as being competent, capable, technically proficient, and generally pro-U.S. in outlook, displaying a high degree of professionalism. However as a whole the culture in the officer corps tends to be very cautious and conservative. The military also faces difficulties in the recruitment and retention of junior officers and NCO's due to competition with the private sector.
Morale in the enlisted corps is generally believed to be rather low, due in part to difficulties in retention of experienced NCO's, force reduction, antiquated management and a traditional military culture with very rigid command structures which discourages lower-level risk-taking, and competition with the private sector which is generally viewed as offering better opportunities, especially for the technically savvy. [1] (http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/twstrait_02261999.html)
There are, however, reports that this is changing as military benefits have been increased to compete more favourably with the private sector. In 2005 the MND exceeded it's recruitment goal of volunteer enlisted personnel by almost twice the required amount. This may be indicative of changing cultural perceptions of military service as well as more experience on the part of MND recruiting officers.
Because of the historical legacy having once controlled Mainland China, the army has traditionally been the most important of Taiwan's military forces, although this has declined in recent years with the realization that the army's role in defending against a PRC invasion is limited. For the same reason, more emphasis is being placed on the development of the navy and air force.
Reforms & Development
Civilian control of the military
Two defense reform laws implemented in 2002 granted the civilian defense minister control over the entire military and expanded legislative oversight authority for the first time in history. In the past the ROC military was closely linked with and controlled by the Kuomintang (Nationalist) Party. Following the democratization of the 1990s the military has moved to a politically neutral position.
Arms purchases
Acquisitions over the next several years will emphasize modern C 4 ISR equipment that will vastly improve communications and data-sharing among services. These and other planned acquisitions will gradually shift the island’s strategic emphasis to offshore engagement of invading Chinese forces. It is hoped that this will serve to reduce civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure in the event of armed conflict.
The ROC's armed forces are equipped with weapons obtained primarily from the United States which has supplied it with 150 F-16A/B Block-20 MLU fighters,4 E-2 Hawkeyes, the licence production of Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, 60 AH-1W attack helos, 39 OH-58D scout helos and 200 Patriot PAC-II SAMs among others. The United States has also authorized the sale of eight diesel submarines in 2001, although it is not clear if and how these subs are to be delivered since the United States does not build diesel submarines and other nations are unlikely to sell these weapons because of PRC pressure. As consequence Taiwan might get a modernised Babel-class design. But Taiwan will take delivery of four Kidd-class destroyers starting from late 2005. Also delivery of M109A6 units started in 2003 together with two additional E2C Hawkeyes and nine Chinook heavy transport helos in 2004. In 1992 the USA also agreed to sell the AEGIS SPY 1F to Taiwan to be installed on a special version of the Perry. However due to technical difficulties this plan was later given up by Taiwan.
The ROC has also procured 2 Zwaardvis MK2 class submarines from the Netherlands, and 60 Mirage 2000-5Di/Ei fighters from France together with six French La Fayette frigates. Also Taiwan acquired four minesweepers from Germany. These sales were made in the late 1980s/early '90s and because of PRC pressure, future large scale sales from Europe appear unlikely.
The military has also stressed military "self-reliance," which has resulted in the growth of indigenous military production in certain fields most notably the Indigenous Defense Fighter, Taiwan's own MLRS the RT-2000 and SAMs like the Sky Bow I and II. Taiwan also developed its own Hsung Feng series of supersonic anti-ship missile. The ROC's efforts at arms purchases have consistently been blocked by PRC. In addition the PRC has consistently attempted to block communications between the ROC military and other militaries and this has led some observers to fear that this is causing ROC's military to fall behind doctrinally.
Doctrine & exercises
A series of computer simulations conducted by the ROC Ministry of National Defense in 2004 predicted that, in the event of a full scale invasion by the PRC, Taipei would fall after almost three weeks. It also showed that the ROC Air Force would be eliminated by about the fifth day. However, the simulation results indicate that the PRC would lose about two-thirds of all its military forces in the process. The results of the simulation are hotly debated since they came at a time when the Legislative Yuan was debating one of the largest arms procurement packages in recent years.
Foreign cooperation
Singapore regularly sends its military to train in Taiwan due to the lack of space in the city-state. In recent years, the ROC military has again begun higher level cooperation with the U.S. Military after over two decades of relative isolation. Senior officers from the U.S. Pacific Command are expected to observe the annual Han Kuang military exercises in 2005.
Organization
Military branches & structure
The following service commands are directly subordinate to the General Staff, which in turn answers to the Minister of Defense and the ROC President:
- Republic of China Army
- Republic of China Navy
- Republic of China Air Force
- Republic of China Military Police
The following commands answer directly to the general staff, but are comprised of members of the above branches, rather then being separate services in their own right:
- Republic of China Missile Command
- Republic of China Information and Electronic Warfare Command
- Republic of China Armed Forces Reserve Command
- Republic of China Combined Service Forces
The Republic of China Coast Guard was created as a separate branch in 2001 from related police and military units and is administered by the Executive Yuan.
Military Ranks
The ROC Military's rank structure is patterned after that of the U.S. Armed Forces. Note that the titles of each rank are the same in Chinese for all four military branches. The corresponding titles in English for each service are also provided.
| Chinese title | Army / Marines / MP | Navy | Air Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一級上將 | General | Admiral | General |
| 二級上將 | Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | Lieutenant General |
| 中將 | Major General | Rear Admiral | Major General |
| 少將 | Brigadier General | Commodore | Brigadier General |
| 上校 | Colonel | Captain | Colonel |
| 中校 | Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Lieutenant Colonel |
| 少校 | Major | Lieutenant Commander | Major |
| 上尉 | Captain | Lieutenant | Captain |
| 中尉 | 1st Lieutenant | Lieutenant Junior Grade | 1st Lieutenant |
| 少尉 | 2nd Lieutenant | Ensign | 2nd Lieutenant |
| Chinese title | Army / Marines / MP | Navy | Air Force |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一等士官長 | Sergeant Major | Master Chief Petty Officer | Chief Master Sergeant |
| 二等士官長 | Master Sergeant | Senior Chief Petty Officer | Senior Master Sergeant |
| 三等士官長 | Sergeant First Class | Chief Petty Officer | Master Sergeant |
| 上士 | Staff Sergeant | Chief Petty Officer | Technical Sergeant |
| 中士 | Sergeant | Petty Officer 2nd Class | Staff Sergeant |
| 下士 | Corporal | Petty Officer 3rd Class | Senior Airman |
| 上等兵 | Private First Class | Seaman First Class | Airman First Class |
| 一等兵 | Private | Seaman | Airman |
| 二等兵 | Private Basic | Seaman Apprentice | Airman Basic |
Major deployments, battles & incidents
ROC on Mainland China (1912-1949)
- Northern Expedition: 1925
- First Communist Insurrection/Purge: 1927-1937
- Second Sino-Japanese War / World War II: 1937-1945
- Marco Polo Bridge Incident: July 7, 1937
- Battle of Shanghai: August 13 - November 9, 1937
- Battle of Nanjing: October - December, 1937
- Battle of Taierzhuang: March 24 - April 7, 1938
- First Battle of Changsha: September 17 - October 6, 1939
- Second Battle of Changsha: September 6 - October 8, 1941
- Third Battle of Changsha: December 24, 1941 - January 15, 1942
- Defense of Sichuan: 1942 - 1943
- Battle of Hengyang-Changsha: June 1944 - April 1945
- Chinese Civil War: 1945 - 1949
- 228 Incident: February 28 - March 1947
ROC on Taiwan (1949-present)
- Battle of Kuningtou: October 25 - October 28, 1949
- First Taiwan Strait Crisis: August 1954 - May 1955
- Fall of Yijiangshan: January 18, 1955
- Tachen Evacuation: February 7 - 11, 1955
- Second Taiwan Strait Crisis: August 23 - early October, 1958
- Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: July 21, 1995 - March 23, 1996
- Southeast Asian tsunami relief: January 2005
Nuclear weapons program
The development of nuclear weapons by the ROC has been a contentious issue, as it is one of the reasons over which the PRC has pledged to attack Taiwan. The U.S., hoping the avoid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait, has continually opposed arming Taiwan with nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the ROC adheres to the principles of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has stated that it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons. Past nuclear research by the ROC makes it a 'threshold' nuclear state.
In 1967, a nuclear weapons program began under the auspices of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) at the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. The ROC was able to acquire nuclear technology from abroad (including a research reactor from Canada and low-grade plutonium from the United States) allegedly for a civilian energy system, but in actuality to develop fuel nuclear weapons.
After the International Atomic Energy Agency found evidence of the ROC's efforts to produce weapons-grade plutonium, Taipei agreed in September 1976 under U.S. pressure to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. Though the nuclear reactor was soon shut down and the plutonium mostly returned to the U.S., work continued secretly.
A secret program was revealed again when Colonel Chang Hsien-yi, deputy director of nuclear research at INER, defected to the U.S. in December 1987 and produced a cache of incriminating documents. General Hau Pei-tsun claimed that scientists in Taiwan had already produced a controlled nuclear reaction. Under pressure from the U.S., the program was halted yet again.
During the 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, then ROC President Lee Teng-hui proposed to reactivate the program, but was forced to back down a few days later after drawing intense criticism.
See also
- Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology
- Military history of China
- People's Liberation Army
- Taiwan and weapons of mass destruction
References
- This article incorporates information from The World Factbook, which is in the public domain. - Taiwan (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tw.html#Military)
External link
- ROC Ministry of National Defense (Traditional Chinese) (http://www.mnd.gov.tw/)
- (English) (http://163.29.3.66/)
- ROC uniform insignia (http://www.uniforminsignia.net/browse.php?kontinent=Asia&stat=Taiwan)