Taiwan’s Compulsory Military Service: Fix it or Drop it

If Taiwan is to retain a basic military training program, it should make sure the nation gets a proper return on the investment 

For years now the Taiwanese armed forces have sought to phase out conscription, an increasingly unpopular citizen’s duty among young Taiwanese, and replace it with an all-volunteer military system. Blaming an inability to attract sufficient numbers of qualified soldiers, the government has repeatedly delayed full implementation and ended up adopting a “dual track” mix of conscripts and volunteers. By doing so it has ensured there are enough “boots on the ground,” but the current conscripts’ training program is an enormous waste of time and money. What’s even worse is that it does nothing to prepare young men and women for combat. 

My article, published today in The News Lens International, continues here.