Robert Besser
16 Mar 2022, 02:07 GMT+10
- Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited army reservists this week, who were training with newly developed army doctrines developed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- For decades, China has laid claim to Taiwan in a similar fashion to Russia and Ukraine
- The Ukraine war has caused debate in Taiwan about its own readiness and tactics, in the event of Beijing making good on it threats to take the island by force
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited army reservists this week, who were training with newly developed army doctrines developed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For decades, China has laid claim to Taiwan in a similar fashion to Russia and Ukraine.
The Ukraine war has caused debate in Taiwan about its own readiness and tactics, in the event of Beijing making good on it threats to take the island by force.
Last year, Taiwan’s government announced a reform in training its reserve forces, which came into force last month.
Reservists will now receive two weeks of training, rather than the previous five to seven days, as well as spend more time on practical combat training.
Observing the training at the Nanshipu firing range outside the capital Taipei, Tsai said reservists will undergo specialized trained in areas close to their homes.
“The recent situation in Ukraine once again proves that the protection of the country, in addition to international solidarity and assistance, depends on the unity of the whole people,” she said.
Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng also told reporters there were many lessons Taiwan could learn from Ukraine.
Taiwan has been gradually shifting from a conscript military to a volunteer-dominated professional force.
Some 15,000 reservists will be trained under the new system during the first three quarters of 2022, but in the fourth quarter, the program will be reviewed to see whether it will continue.
Tsai has championed the concept of “asymmetric warfare” to make the military more mobile, harder to attack and better able to survive and strike back during a war, and reservists are part of that plan.
Independent lawmaker Freddy Lim, who sits on parliament’s defense and foreign affairs committee, told Reuters that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has made many Taiwanese more determined to defend the island and has boosted public support for reservist training reform and civil defense.
“In the past, before Ukraine, we were called alarmist when we made these efforts. That is not the case anymore,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.
