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Traditional bayonet training will give way to more sophisticated weapons training when Taiwanese conscripts start compulsory one-year training in 2024. Photo: AP Photo

Taiwan’s plan for 1-year compulsory military service includes teaching young conscripts to fire missiles

  • Leaving traditional bayonet drill training behind, Taiwanese recruits will learn to fire powerful weapons and modern close-quarters battle skills
  • Analysts question whether the military has the teaching resources or training grounds to cope with the influx of conscripts in 2024
Taiwan
Taiwanese conscripts will be trained to fire more powerful weapons, such as portable Stinger and Javelin missiles, from 2024 as part of their one-year compulsory military training to enhance combat readiness in the event of a cross-strait conflict.

Instead of traditional bayonet drill training, recruits will be required to learn modern close-quarters battle skills to better tackle the potential enemy from Beijing, when Taiwan resumes its year-long military service in just over a year.

Before 1987, the island required local conscripts to serve three years but it was cut to two years in 1990 and then reduced to one in 2008.

The length of service was gradually reduced before dropping to four months in 2013. Conscripts also have the option to choose alternative military service, such as administrative jobs in government agencies or working for international cooperation programmes.

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Taiwan extends mandatory military service as tensions with mainland China increase

Taiwan extends mandatory military service as tensions with mainland China increase

Threats from Beijing, ‘persuasion’ from US

Facing a growing military threat from Beijing, and repeated “persuasion” from the United States – an informal ally and major supplier of arms to Taiwan – the island’s authorities have been impelled since 2020 to discuss a structural revamp of its forces.
In the face of strong accusations by local critics that the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party government had tried to stall the issue in an attempt to please young voters for future election gains, President Tsai Ing-wen finally announced the decision on Tuesday to extend the four-month military service to a year.

What will be in the training?

According to the proposed reform approved by the cabinet on Thursday, Taiwanese men born after January 1, 2005 must serve one year, beginning in 2024.

While the conscripts will be paid NT$20,320 (US$660) a month plus NT$5,987 for allowance and insurance – much more than the NT$6,510 conscripts receive now – they will face much more intensive training.

“For example, they will be required to receive close-quarters battle training and learn how to fire Stinger and Javelin missiles, Kestrel anti-armour rockets, and operate unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as other new weapons,” Tsai said.

Xi stresses the need for hi-tech military training for China’s troops

The portable FIM-92 Stinger air-aircraft missiles and FGM-148 Javelin anti-tank missiles, as well as surveillance and suicide drones, have proven effective on the battlefield in Ukraine’s war against Russia.

They are seen as part of the arsenal Taiwan would use in asymmetric warfare to counter Beijing, which claims the island as its territory and does not renounce the use of force to bring it under its control.

Taiwan’s defence ministry has listed a budget of NT$13.37 billion to buy 500 portable short-range anti-aircraft missiles, with complete delivery expected before 2025.

A ministry source said the US had tentatively agreed to sell the weapons to help strengthen Taiwanese troops’ training.

The island’s military would also bring in the latest training models from the US and other countries that have combat experience to enhance training for the conscripts, according to Tsai.

02:47

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Inside the Taiwanese navy’s ‘hell week’, where less than half the participants make it through

Vice-defence minister Po Horng-huei said during the same news conference that the recruits must receive 52 weeks of training, including eight weeks of boot camp, 18 weeks of site training, seven weeks of specialised training and 13 weeks of field unit training.

Currently, all conscripts need only undergo five weeks of boot camp, followed by 11 weeks of specialised training with field units.

Conscripts will also have extended marksmanship training with the expectation they fire at least 800 rounds of ammunition during their year-long service period, he said.

Division of forces

The conscripts will play the role of a garrison force to supplement the main force made up of volunteers, and work with the civil defence force that is made up of reservists, police and local security personnel.

The voluntary force – the backbone of Taiwan’s armed forces – would be accountable for defending the island’s territory, airspace and surrounding waters, Po said.

Conscripts would be responsible for handling homeland defence and guarding military posts and key infrastructure while serving as backup for the armed forces.

According to the plan, civil defence units would provide support during wartime and help disaster relief during peacetime, Po said.

US welcomes extension of service

Soon after Tsai announced the extension of the conscription service to one year, the US applauded her decision.

“We welcome Taiwan’s recent announcement on conscription reform, which underscores Taiwan’s commitment to self-defence and strengthens deterrence,” the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy in Taipei, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

It said Washington would continue to help Taiwan maintain sufficient capability to defend itself in line with the Taiwan Relations Act and its one-China policy.

02:04

PLA scrambles record 71 warplanes near Taiwan in response to increased US military aid

PLA scrambles record 71 warplanes near Taiwan in response to increased US military aid

Pros and cons of the reform plan

Su Tzu-yun, a senior analyst at the government-funded Institute for National Defence and Security Research in Taipei said the training that current conscripts received was far from adequate in the defence of the island.

“Longer training definitely would help. But what is more important is whether the type of training those conscripts receive could really improve their combat readiness and boost the resilience of our troops should a war break out,” he said.

Chieh Chung, a researcher at the National Policy Foundation, a think tank affiliated with the main opposition Kuomintang party in Taipei, said the extension would certainly help boost the defence capability of the island’s reserve force.

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“But the problem lies in whether we have enough training capacity, like qualified training officers and training grounds,” he said.

“Currently, the military only have three large-scale training drill grounds … barely enough to train the conscripts, and the military will start running out of major training grounds for the recruits in the future,” he said.

The Taiwanese military also faces a shortage of shooting ranges, resulting in recruits having limited time to practise sharp shooting, Chieh said.

“With just one year to go, is it possible for the military to be able to build more facilities to train the conscripts and acquire qualified officers to train them?” he asked.

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