For many years, Taiwan armed forces have tried to phase out compulsory military service by young Taiwanese men and shift towards a voluntary system. Part of the reason for this is a severe lack of interest from the population even though the recruiters are pitching attractive benefits for joining the military.
In recent surveys, it was found that many Taiwanese have lost confidence in the national army and many of the interviewees expressed that it is a waste of time or money to try defending against China. As a result, the growth in voluntary recruitment is not catching up with the worsening imbalance of military strength in comparison with China. This will pose a severe problem for Taiwan’s security if tensions continue to escalate in the Taiwan Straits.
Read the full article on Channel NewsAsia: For Taiwan youth, military service is a hard sell despite China tension
Analysis:
The decision to phase out conscription could be seen as a move to appease younger voters. In terms of military strength and capabilities, China is way ahead of Taiwan. Other countries are wary of selling cutting edge military technologies and equipment to Taiwan for fear of offending China. These factors may have incited the low confidence that Taiwanese youth have of their own military capabilities. It seems increasingly difficult for them to willingly sacrifice personal liberty to serve national interest.
However, having strong defense is necessary to deter foreign attacks especially when China remains hostile to any talk of Taiwan being an independent entity. Currently, compulsory military service is cut down to four months. To compound matters, the risk-averse establishment is not training combat-ready soldiers in that four months for fear of injuries and accidents. It further reinforces the perspective that the military is unserious and unreliable.
Questions for further personal evaluation:
- Is it conceivable for national service to be made voluntary?
- In today’s context, why is it still important to have an armed forces when countries are not in the business of fighting physical wars?
Useful vocabulary:
- ‘conscription’: compulsory enlistment of people in a national service
- ‘placate’: make (someone) less angry or hostile
Picture credits: https://pixabay.com/en/runners-silhouettes-military-752495/